II 111  I 


THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 


V 


Copyright,  1910,  by  The  Pictorial  News  Co. 

CURTISS'  HUDSON  UIVEIi  FLIGHT— OVER  THE  STATUE  OF  LIBERTY 


THE  CURTISS 
AVIATION  BOOK 


BY 

GLENN  H.  CURTISS 

AND 

AUGUSTUS  POST 

WITH  CHAPTERS  BY  CAPTAIN   PAUL  W.   BECK,   U.  S.  A. 

LIEUTENANT  THEODORE  G.   ELLYSON,   U.  S.  N. 

AND   HUGH  ROBINSON 

With  Numerous  Illustrations  from  Photographs 


NEW   YORK 

FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1912,  by 
FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved,  including  that  of  translation  into  foreign 
languages^  including  the  Scandinavian 


October,  1912 


TO 

MBS.   MABEL  G.   BELL 

WHO  MADE   POSSIBLE   THE   AERIAL   EXPERIMENT  ASSOCIATION 

THIS  BOOK  IS  DEDICATED  BY 

THE  AUTHORS 


259861 


CONTENTS 
PAET  I 

BOYHOOD  AND  EARLY  EXPERIMENTS— 

Augustus  Post 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    THE  COMING  AIRMEN — AN  INTRODUCTORY  CHAP- 
TER       3 

II    BOYHOOD  DAYS 8 

III  BUILDING  MOTORS  AND  MOTORCYCLE  RACING    .     .     18 

IV  BALDWIN'S  BALLOON  29 


PAET  II 

MY  FIRST  FLIGHTS— Glenn  H.  Curtiss 

I    BEGINNING  TO  FLY 37 

II    FIRST  FLIGHTS 41 

III  THE  "JUNE  BUG" — FIRST  FLIGHTS  TOR  THE  SCIEN- 

TIFIC  AMERICAN   TROPHY   AND   FIRST   EXPERI- 
MENTS WITH  THE  HYDROAEROPLANE  ....  51 

IV  FIRST  FLIGHTS  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY    ....  57 

PAET  III 

MY  CHIEF  FLIGHTS  AND  THE  WORK  OF 
TO-DAY— Glenn  H.  Curtiss 

I    THE  RHEIMS  MEET — FIRST  INTERNATIONAL  AERO- 
PLANE CONTEST 65 

v 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

II  HUDSON-FULTON  CELEBRATION — FlRST  AMERICAN- 
INTERNATIONAL  MEET,  Los  ANGELES  ....  80 

III  FLIGHT  DOWN  THE  HUDSON  RIVER  FROM  ALBANY 

TO  NEW  YORK  CITY 91 

IV  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  HYDROAEROPLANE  .     .     .  112 
V    DEVELOPING  THE  HYDROAEROPLANE  AT  SAN  DIEGO 

— THE  HYDRO  OF  THE  SUMMER  OF  1912  .     .     .  129 

PAET  IV 

THE  REAL  FUTURE  OF  THE  AEROPLANE— 

Glenn  H.  Curtiss,  Capt.  Beck,  Lieut.  Ellyson 

and  Augustus  Post 

I    AEROPLANE  SPEED  OF  THE  FUTURE 155 

II  FUTURE  SURPRISES  OF  THE  AEROPLANE — HUNTING, 
TRAVEL,  MAIL,  WIRELESS,  LIFE- SAVING,  AND 
OTHER  SPECIAL  USES 168 

III  THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  HYDRO 187 

IV  FUTURE  PROBLEMS  OF  AVIATION 193 

V    THE   AEROPLANE   AS   APPLIED   TO   THE   ARMY — 

Capt.  Paul  W.  Beck,  U.  8.  A 205 

VI    THE  AEROPLANE  FOR  THE  NAVY — Lieut.   Theodore 

G.  Ellyzon,  U.  8.  N 219 

VII  GLIDING  AND  CYCLE- SAILING — A  FUTURE  SPORT 
FOR  BOYS,  THE  AIRMEN  OF  TO-MORROW — 
Augustus  Post 227 

PAET  V 

EVERY-DAY  FLYING  FOR  PROFESSIONAL 
AND  AMATEUR— Glenn  H.  Curtiss,  Au- 
gustus Post  and  Hugh  Bobinson 

I    TEACHING  AVIATORS — How  AN  AVIATOR  FLIES     .  235 
II    AVIATION  FOR  AMATEURS  .  .  254 


CONTENTS  vii 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

III  How  IT  FEELS  TO  FLY — Augustus  Post       .     .     .  263 

IV  OPERATING  A  HYDROAEROPLANE — HughRoUnson    .  272 

PAET  VI 

THE  CURTISS  PUPILS  AND  A  DESCRIPTION 

OF  THE  CURTISS  AEROPLANE  AND 

MOTORr-Augustus  Post 

I    PUPILS 281 

II    A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  CURTISS  BIPLANE  .     .     .  287 
III    THE  CURTISS  MOTOR  AND  FACTORY  .  .  296 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


CURTISS7  HUDSON  RIVER  FLIGHT — OVER  THE  STATUE  OF  LIB- 
ERTY   Frontispiece 

FACING 
PAGE 

CURTISS  THE  BOY  AND  CURTISS  THE  MAN 20 

CURTISS  WINNING  WORLD'S  MOTORCYCLE  RECORDS    ...  21 

THE  BALDWIN  ARMY  DIRIGIBLE,  WITH  EARLY  CURTISS  MOTOR  30 

WIND  WAGON  AND  ICE  BOAT  WITH  AERIAL  PROPELLER  .     .  31 

THE  AERIAL  EXPERIMENT  ASSOCIATION 38 

STARTING  TO  FLY — FIRST  PUBLIC  FLIGHT  IN  AMERICA;  THE 
"JUNE  BUG,"  JUNE,  1908;  BALDWIN  IN  GLIDER  .  .  39 

THE  FIRST  MACHINES — THE  "WHITE  WING"  AND  "RED 
WING" 52 

CURTISS7   FIRST   FLIGHT  FOR   THE   SCIENTIFIC   AMERICAN 

TROPHY  53 

WINNING  THE  GORDON  BENNETT  CONTEST  IN  FRANCE    .       .       74 
PRESIDENT   TAFT   WATCHING    CURTISS    FLY,    HARVARD    MEET, 

1910 75 

THE  ALBANY-NEW  YORK  FLIGHT—  START ;  OVER  WEST  POINT      92 

THE  HUDSON  FLIGHT — OVER  STORM  KING 93 

THE  HUDSON  FLIGHT — STOP  AT  POUGHKEEPSIE ;  FINISH,  AT 
GOVERNOR'S  ISLAND 106 

THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  HYDRO; — THE  FIRST  HYDRO  IN  THE 
WORLD;  DUAL  CONTROL  HYDRO  OF  1911;  LANDING  IN 
HYDRO  AT  CEDAR  POINT,  OHIO 107 

ELY  LANDING  ON  THE  U.  S.  S.  "PENNSYLVANIA"  ....  120 

CURTISS  AND  HYDRO  HOISTED  ON  U.  S.  S.  "PENNSYLVANIA"; 

ELY  LEAVING  "PENNSYLVANIA" 121 

ix 


x  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 
PAGE 

DIAGRAM  OF  CUBTISS  FLYING  BOAT  OF  1912 146 

THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  HYDRO — THE  FLYING  BOAT  OF  SUM- 
MER 1912;  THE  1911  HYDRO 148 

HYDRO  FLIGHTS — CURTISS  OVER  LAKE  ERIE;  WITMER  RIDING 

THE  GROUND  SWELLS 149 

CAPTAIN  BECK  AND  POSTMASTER-GENERAL  HITCHCOCK  CAR- 
RYING THE  MAIL 174 

STUDENTS  OF  AERIAL  WARFARE — BECK,  TOWERS,  ELLYSON, 
MCCLASKEY;  WITH  CURTISS  AND  ST.  HENRY  .  .  .  175 

ELLYSON  LAUNCHES  HYDRO  FROM  WIRE  CABLE  ....  224 
HUGH  ROBINSON'S  FLIGHT  DOWN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  .  .  .  225 
AUGUSTUS  POST  FLYING;  AEROPLANE  SHIPMENT  ....  264 
CURTISS  PUPILS — J.  A.  D.  MCCURDY  RACING  AN  AUTOMOBILE; 

LIEUTENANT  ELLYSON  ;  MR.  AND  MRS.  W.  B.  ATWATER  .    265 

CURTISS  PUPILS — C.  C.  WITMER,  BECKWITH  HAVENS,  J.  A.  D. 
MCCURDY,  CROMWELL  DIXON,  CHAS.  K.  HAMILTON, 
CHAS.  F.  WALSH,  CHAS.  F.  WILLARD 282 

LINCOLN  BEACHEY  FLYING  IN  GORGE  AT  NIAGARA      .       .       .  283 

DIAGRAM  OF  CURTISS  AEROPLANE,   SHOWING  PARTS    .       .       .  290 

DIAGRAM  OF  CURTISS  MOTOR,  SHOWING  PARTS       ....  291 

CURTISS    MOTORS,   OLD    AND    NEW 300 

AT  THE   AEROPLANE   FACTORY,   HAMMONDSPORT    ....  301 


PART  I 

BOYHOOD  AND  EARLY  EXPERIMENTS 
OF  GLENN  H.  CURTISS 

BY 

AUGUSTUS  POST 


THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  COMING  AIRMEN— AN  INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER 

THE  time  lias  come  when  the  world  is  going  to 
need  a  new  type  of  men — almost  a  new 
race.  These  are  the  Flying  Men.  The  great 
dream  of  centuries  has  come  true,  and  man  now 
has  the  key  to  the  sky.  Every  great  invention 
which  affects  the  habits  and  customs  of  a  people 
brings  about  changes  in  the  people  themselves. 
How  great,  then,  must  be  the  changes  to  be 
brought  about  by  the  flying  machine,  and  how 
strangely  new  the  type  of  man  that  it  carries  up 
into  a  new  world,  under  absolutely  new  condi- 
tions ! 

Each  year  there  will  be  more  need  of  flying 
men;  so  that  in  telling  this  story  of  a  pioneer 
American  aviator,  his  struggles,  failures,  and  suc- 
cesses, it  has  been  the  desire  to  keep  in  mind  not 
only  the  scientific  elders  who  are  interested  in 
angles  of  incidence,  automatic  stability  and  the 
like,  but  also  the  boys  and  girls — the  air  pilots 
of  the  future.  It  is  hoped  that  there  will  be  in 

3 


4         THE  OUKTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

these  introductory  chapters — for  whose  writing, 
be  it  understood,  Mr.  Curtiss  is  not  responsible — 
a  plain  unvarnished  story  of  an  American  boy  who 
worked  his  way  upward  from  the  making  of  bicy- 
cles to  the  making  of  history,  an  inspiration  for 
future  flights,  whether  in  imagination  or  aero- 
planes, and  that  even  the  youngest  reader  will 
gain  courage  to  meet  the  obstacles  and  to  over- 
come the  difficulties  which  Glenn  H.  Curtiss  met 
and  overcame  in  his  progress  to  fame. 

Here  is  a  man  who  is  a  speed  marvel — who  has 
beat  the  world  at  it.  First  on  land,  riding  a  mo- 
torcycle, next  in  a  flying  machine,  and  finally  in  a 
machine  that  was  both  water  and  air  craft,  which 
sped  over  the  surface  of  the  sea  faster  than  man 
had  ever  travelled  on  that  element,  and  which  rose 
into  the  air  and  came  back  to  land  with  the  speed 
of  the  fastest  express  train ;  a  man  who  traveled 
at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  miles 
an  hour  on  land,  fifty-eight  miles  an  hour  on  the 
water  and  who  won  the  first  International  speed 
championship  in  the  air. 

More  than  that,  they  may  see  what  sort  of  a 
boy  came  to  be  the  speed  champion  and  to  know 
some  of  the  traits  that  go  to  make  the  successful 
airman,  for  it  is  said  of  the  great  aviators,  as  of 
the  great  poets,  they  are  born  flying  men,  and  not 
developed.  The  successful  flying  man  and  maker 
of  flying  machines,  such  as  Glenn  H.  Curtiss  has 
shown  himself  to  be,  realises  how  dangerous  is 


THE  COMING  AIRMEN  5 

failure,  and  builds  slowly.  He  builds,  too,  on  his 
experience  gained  from  day  to  day;  having  in- 
finite patience  and  dogged  perseverance.  And 
yet  a  great  aviator  must  be  possessed  of  such 
marvelous  quickness  of  thought  that  he  can  think 
faster  than  the  forces  of  nature  can  act,  and  he 
must  act  as  fast  as  he  thinks. 

He  must  be  so  completely  in  harmony  with  Na- 
ture and  her  moods  that  he  can  tell  just  when  is 
the  right  time  to  attempt  a  dangerous  experiment, 
and  so  thoroughly  in  control  of  himself  that  he 
can  refuse  to  make  the  experiment  when  he  knows 
it  should  not  be  made,  even  though  urged  by  all 
those  around  him  to  go  ahead.  He  must  feel  that 
nothing  is  impossible,  and  yet  he  must  not  at- 
tempt anything  until  he  is  sure  that  he  is  ready 
and  every  element  of  danger  has  been  eliminated, 
so  far  as  lies  in  human  power.  He  must  realise 
that  he  cannot  change  the  forces  of  nature,  but 
that  he  can  make  them  do  his  work  when  he  under- 
stands them.  Some  of  these  qualities  must  be  in- 
bred in  the  man,  but  the  life-story  of  Glenn  H. 
Curtiss  shows  how  far  energy,  courage,  and  tire- 
less perseverance  will  go  toward  bringing  them 
out. 

It  is  from  among  the  country  boys  that  the  best 
aviators  will  be  found  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
coming  Flying  Age.  They  have  been  getting 
ready  for  it  for  a  long  time — long  before  the  days 
of  Darius  Green.  Does  any  one  now  read  "Phae- 


6         THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

ton  Bogers,"  that  story  of  the  inventive  boy  back 
in  the  eighties,  and  recall  the  " wind- wagon" 
which  was  one  of  his  many  inventions?  There 
were  many  like  him  then,  and  there  are  more  like 
him  now;  always  tinkering  at  something,  trying 
to  make  it  "go,"  and  go  fast.  And  there  are 
many  of  these  who  are  building  up,  perhaps  with- 
out knowing  it,  the  strong  body,  the  steady  brain, 
courage,  perseverance,  and  the  power  of  quick 
decision — the  character  of  the  successful  airmen 
of  the  future. 

The  history  of  aviation  is  very  brief,  expressed 
in  years.  In  effort  it  covers  centuries.  First 
come  the  inventors,  a  calm,  cautious  type  of  men, 
holding  their  ideas  so  well  in  trust  that  they  will 
not  risk  their  lives  for  mere  display  and  the  ap- 
plause of  the  crowd.  Then  the  exploiters,  eager 
for  money  and  fame ;  men  who  develop  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  machines,  always  asking  more  and 
getting  more  in  the  way  of  achievement  with  each 
new  model  built.  Though  covering  a  period  of 
less  than  a  half  score  of  years,  aviation  already 
has  its  second  generation  of  flyers,  pupils  trained 
by  the  pioneers,  young  and  ambitious,  eager  to 
explore  the  new  element  that  has  been  made  pos- 
sible by  their  mentors.  From  the  country  dis- 
tricts, where  the  blood  is  red,  the  brain  steady  and 
the  heart  strong,  will  come  many  an  explorer  of 
the  regions  of  the  air.  Just  as  the  city  boy  in  de- 
veloping the  wireless  telegraph  strings  his  anten- 


THE  COMING  AIEMEN  7 

nae  on  the  housetops  and  the  roofs  of  the  giant  sky- 
scrapers, so  will  the  country  boy  develop  his 
glider  or  his  aeroplane  in  the  pasture  lands  and 
on  the  steep  hillsides  of  his  own  particular  terri- 
tory, and  we  shall  have  a  race  of  flying  men  to 
carry  on  the  development  of  the  flying  machine 
until  it  shall  reach  that  long  dreamed-of  and 
f ought-f or  perfection. 


CHAPTER  II 

BOYHOOD  DAYS 

GLENN  HAMMOND  CUETISS  was  born  at 
Hammondsport,  New  York,  May  21,  1878. 
His  middle  name  shows  his  connection  with  the 
pioneer  family  for  which  the  town  is  named. 
Then  Hammondsport  was  a  port  for  canal  boats 
that  came  up  Lake  Keuka ;  nowadays  it  is  an  air- 
port for  the  craft  of  the  sky.  It  is  a  quaint  little 
town,  lying  on  the  shores  of  a  beautiful  lake  that 
stretches  away  to  Penn  Yann,  twenty  miles  to  the 
north.  Glenn's  old  home  was  called  Castle  Hill. 
It  was  nearly  surrounded  by  vineyards  and  fruit 
trees.  It  was  once  the  property  of  Judge  Ham- 
mond, who  built  the  first  house  in  Hammondsport. 
On  this  site  now  stands  the  Curtiss  factories. 

All  about  Hammondsport  are  the  great  vine- 
yards that  have  made  the  town  famous  for  its 
wine,  for  Hammondsport  is  in  the  very  heart  of 
the  grape-growing  section  of  New  York  State. 
These  vineyards  give  the  boys  of  Hammondsport 
a  fine  opportunity  to  earn  money  each  year,  and 
Glenn  was  always  among  those  who  spent  the  va- 
cation time  in  tying  up  grape  vines,  and  in  gather- 
ing the  fruit  on  Saturdays  and  at  other  odd  times. 

8 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  9 

Some  of  the  neighbours '  children  picked  winter- 
green  and  flowers,  and  sold  them  to  the  summer 
excursionists.  One  time  Glenn  was  invited  to  go 
with  them.  He  sold  six  bunches  for  sixty  cents. 
His  mother  applied  the  amount  toward  a  pair  of 
shoes  in  order  to  teach  him  the  use  and  value  of 
money.  He  was  then  three  years  old  and  wore  a 
fresh  white  dress  and  a  blue  sash. 

Glenn  was  afterwards  taught  how  to  prune  and 
tie  vines  and  gather  fruit  and  at  harvest  time  he 
was  often  seen  with  pony  and  wagon  making  a 
fast  run  to  the  station  to  get  the  last  load  of 
grapes  on  the  train. 

With  the  care  of  his  sister  and  the  work  on  the 
home  vineyard,  life  was  not  all  play,  for  Glenn 
was  "The  Man  of  the  House,"  after  his  father's 
death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  four  years 
old.  At  this  time,  he  went  with  his  mother  and 
sister,  to  live  with  his  grandmother  who  lived  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  village. 

Hammondsport  is  divided  by  the  main  street, 
and  the  boys  of  the  two  sections,  like  the  boys  in 
cities,  were  always  at  war.  The  factional  lines 
were  tightly  drawn  and  many  were  the  combats 
between  the  up-town  boys  and  the  low-town  boys. 
The  hill  boys  had  a  den  in  the  side  of  a  bank  that 
sloped  down  from  Grandma  Curtiss '  yard,  walled 
in  with  stones  of  a  convenient  size.  This  gave 
them  good  ammunition  and  a  great  advantage  in 
time  of  battle. 


10       THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Among  the  members  of  the  up-town  gang  were, 
"Fatty"  Hastings  and  "Short"  Wheeler,  "Jess" 
Talmadge  and  "Cowboy"  Wixom  and  Curtley,  as 
the  boys  called  Curtiss.  He  was  captain  of  the 
band,  because  he  had  a  sort  of  ownership  of  the 
den.  Thus  the  war  waged  until  one  day  they 
punctured  Craton  Wheeler's  dog  "Pickles," 
which  so  infuriated  the  enemy  of  the  lower  village 
that  they  were  on  the  point  of  storming  the  fort 
in  the  hillside  from  above,  and  would  no  doubt 
have  done  so  had  they  not  chanced  to  trample 
upon  Grandma  Curtiss '  flower  beds  which  caused 
this  indignant  lady  to  issue  forth  and  put  the  en- 
tire gang  to  rout.  The  cave  continued  to  be  a 
safe  refuge  for  the  hillside  gang  until  "Fatty" 
Hastings  grew  too  big  to  squeeze  through  the  en- 
trance and  sometimes  got  stuck  just  as  the  gang 
was  ready  to  sally  forth  against  the  enemy,  or 
blocked  the  whole  crew  when  they  were  in  retreat. 

During  the  winter  months  Glenn  gave  his  hand 
to  making  skate-sails,  and  became  very  proficient 
at  it,  and  when  summer  came  and  the  boys  went 
on  bird-nesting  excursions  in  the  woods,  he  was 
usually  the  daring  one  who  allowed  himself  to  be 
lowered  by  a  rope  over  the  cliff's  edge  or  climbed 
to  the  topmost  limbs  of  the  big  hickory  trees.  At 
school,  mathematics  was  young  Curtiss 's  strong 
point,  and  when  finally  he  came  to  pass  his  final 
examinations  in  the  high  school,  he  topped  his 
class  in  that  study  with  a  perfect  score  of  one 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  11 

hundred,  and  in  Algebra  he  stood  ninety-nine. 
It  is  reassuring,  however,  to  find  that  in  spelling 
he  was  barely  able  to  squeeze  through  with  a  per- 
centage of  seventy-five.  Glenn  sometimes  slipped 
up  on  the  figuring,  but  the  principle  was  usually 
right;  he  had  figured  that  out  beforehand.  The 
boys  of  Hammondsport  used  to  say  that  Glenn 
would  think  half  an  hour  to  do  fifteen  minutes' 
work.  One  wonders  what  they  would  have  said, 
if  they  had  been  told  that  in  after  years  he  was  to 
think  and  plan  and  scheme  for  a  year,  and  then 
when  he  was  all  ready,  to  wait  hour  after  hour, 
day  after  day,  to  accomplish  something  requiring 
a  little  more  than  two  hours '  time ;  like  his  flight 
from  Albany  to  New  York,  the  first  great  cross- 
country flight  made  in  America. 

When  Curtiss  was  twelve  years  old  his  family 
went  to  live  in  Kochester,  New  York,  so  that  his 
sister  might  be  able  to  attend  a  school  for  the  deaf 
at  that  place.  He  went  on  working  at  Eochester 
after  school  hours  and  during  vacation  time,  first 
as  a  telegraph  messenger,  then  in  the  great  East- 
man Kodak  works,  assembling  cameras.  He  was 
one  of  the  very  first  boys  hired  by  that  establish- 
ment to  replace  men  at  certain  kinds  of  work,  and 
while  the  men  had  received  twelve  dollars  a  week, 
Glenn  received  but  four  dollars.  Before  long, 
however,  he  had  induced  his  employers  to  make 
his  work  a  piece-work  job,  and  had  improved  the 
process  of  manufacture  and  increased  the  produc- 


12       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

tion  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  twenty-five 
hundred  a  day.  He  was  thus  able  to  earn  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  dollars  a  week.  It  was  while  em- 
ployed in  the  camera  works  at  Eochester  that 
Curtiss  saved  the  life  of  a  companion  who  had 
fallen  through  the  ice  on  the  Erie  canal.  When 
praised  for  his  act  of  bravery  he  simply  re- 
marked: "I  pulled  him  out  because  I  was  the 
nearest  to  him." 

All  during  the  time  that  Curtiss  was  working  for 
others  for  wages,  he  continued  to  tinker — making 
things  and  then  taking  them  apart.  Once  he  told 
some  of  his  companions  that  he  could  make,  out 
of  a  cigar  box,  a  camera  that  would  take  a  good 
picture.  Of  course  they  laughed  at  him  and  bet 
that  he  couldn't  do  it.  But  Glenn  did  do  it,  and  a 
picture  of  his  sister  with  a  book  was  produced 
and  is  still  unf  aded,  and  in  good  condition,  in  pos- 
session of  his  family.  He  constructed  a  complete 
telegraph  instrument  out  of  spools,  nails,  tin,  and 
wire  and  this  so  impressed  the  lady  with  whom 
the  Curtisses  boarded  that  she  remarked  to  one  of 
her  friends  that  "  Glenn  Curtiss  will  make  his 
mark  in  the  world  some  day;  you  mark  my 
words.''  This  particular  lady  tells  of  the  time 
that  Glenn  used  to  talk  of  airships,  and  he  was  not 
yet  sixteen  years  old.  Curtiss  was  fond  of  all 
sorts  of  sports,  taking  part  in  the  games  the  boys 
would  get  up  after  school  and  on  Saturdays.  He 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  13 

liked  to  play  ball,  to  run,  jump,  swim,  and  to  ride 
a  bicycle. 

His  time  was  too  much  taken  up,  however,  with 
more  productive  efforts,  such  as  the  wiring  of 
dwellings  for  electric  light  or  telephones,  to  per- 
mit of  much  time  being  given  to  boyish  sports. 

He  was  most  original  and  had  a  keen  sense  of 
humour.  He  was  fond  of  an  argument,  and  had 
one  striking  characteristic ;  once  he  had  made  up 
his  mind  as  to  the  why  and  wherefore  of  a  thing, 
he  could  never  be  induced  to  change  it.  To  il- 
lustrate this  trait ;  one  day  an  argument  arose  be- 
tween Glenn  and  another  boy  as  to  whether  or  not 
a  whale  is  a  fish,  Glenn  holding  that  it  could  be 
nothing  but  a  fish.  The  other  boy  finally  reen- 
f orced  his  argument  by  producing  a  dictionary  to 
show  that  a  whale  is  not  a  fish,  whereupon  Curtiss 
asserted  that  the  dictionary  was  wrong  and  re- 
fused to  accept  it  as  authority. 

Curtiss  was  always  eager  for  speed — to  get 
from  one  place  to  another  in  the  quickest  time 
with  the  least  amount  of  effort.  He  was  obsessed 
with  the  idea  of  travelling  fast.  One  of  the  first 
things  he  remembers,  says  Curtiss,  was  seeing  a 
sled  made  by  one  of  his  father's  workmen  for  his 
son  beat  every  other  sled  that  dashed  down  the 
steep  snow-clad  hills  around  Hammondsport.  He 
begged  his  father  to  let  "Gene"  make  him  a  sled 
that  would  go  faster  than  Linn's.  "Gene"  made 


14       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

the  sled  and  Glenn  painted  it  red,  with  a  picture 
of  a  horse  on  it.  Furthermore,  he  beat  every  sled 
in  Hammondsport  or  thereabouts. 

The  bicycle  became  all  the  rage  when  Curtis s 
was  growing  into  his  early  teens  and  nothing  was 
more  certain  than  that  he  should  have  one  as  soon 
as  he  could  earn  enough  money  to  buy  it.  And 
when  he  got  it  he  made  it  serve  his  purposes  in 
delivering  telegrams,  newspapers,  and  such  like. 
He  developed  speed  and  staying  powers  as  a  rider, 
and  soon  thought  nothing  of  making  the  trip  from 
Eochester  to  Hammondsport  to  see  his  grand- 
mother, who  still  lived  in  the  old  home  in  that  vil- 
lage. The  roads  of  New  York  were  not  as  good 
as  they  are  nowadays,  when  the  automobile  forces 
improvements  of  the  highways,  but  Curtiss  rode 
fast  nevertheless.  In  fact,  he  managed  all  his 
regular  work  this  way.  His  idea  was  first,  to 
find  out  just  how  to  do  it,  and  then  do  it.  Then 
he  would  find  out  how  fast  a  certain  task  could  be 
performed,  and  get  through  with  it  at  top  speed. 
The  surplus  time  he  devoted  to  tinkering  with 
something  new. 

Grandmother  Curtiss  finally  prevailed  upon 
him  to  go  back  to  Hammondsport  and  live  with 
her.  For  a  time  after  his  return  he  assisted  a  lo- 
cal photographer  and  his  experience  in  photogra- 
phy gained  at  this  time  has  since  proved  of  great 
value  to  him,  and,  incidentally,  to  the  history  of 
aviation;  for  in  photographing  his  experiments 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  15 

Curtiss'  pictures  have  a  distinct  value,  as  much 
for  being  taken  just  at  the  right  instant,  as  for 
their  pictorial  detail.  Following  his  photo- 
graphic employment,  Curtiss  took  charge  of  a  bi- 
cycle repair  shop.  It  was  a  little  shop  down  by 
the  principal  hotel  in  Hammondsport,  but  Curtiss 
foresaw  the  popularity  and  later  the  cheapness 
of  the  bicycle,  and  he  believed  the  shop  would  do 
a  good  business.  James  Smellie  owned  the  shop, 
but  Curtiss'  mechanical  skill  soon  asserted  itself 
and  he  became  the  practical  boss.  This  was  in 
1897.  George  Lyon,  a  local  jeweler,  was  a  com- 
petitor of  Smellie 's  in  the  bicycle  business,  and 
got  up  a  big  race  around  the  valley,  a  distance  of 
five  miles  over  the  rough  country  roads.  When 
Smellie  heard  of  the  race  he  made  up  his  mind 
that  Curtiss  could  win  it  and  went  about  arrang- 
ing the  equipment  of  his  employe.  That  race  has 
passed  into  the  real  history  of  the  town  of  Ham- 
mondsport. Everybody  in  the  town  and  the  val- 
ley was  there,  and  great  was  the  excitement  when 
the  riders  lined  up  for  the  start.  They  started 
from  a  point  near  the  monument  in  front  of  the 
Episcopal  church  and  within  a  few  moments  after 
the  crack  of  the  pistol  they  were  all  out  of  sight, 
swallowed  up  in  the  dust  clouds  that  marked  their 
progress  up  the  valley.  After  a  long  interval  of 
suspense  a  solitary  rider  appeared  on  the  home 
stretch,  hunched  down  over  his  handle-bars  and 
riding  for  dear  life,  without  a  glance  to  right  or 


16       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

left.  It  was  Curtiss,  who  probably  has  never 
since  felt  the  same  thrill  of  pride  at  the  shouts 
of  the  crowd.  The  next  man  was  fully  half  a  mile 
in  the  rear  when  Glenn  crossed  the  finish-line. 

This  was  Curtiss '  first  bicycle  race,  but  later  he 
acquired  greater  speed  and  experience  and  rode 
in  many  races  at  county  fairs  in  the  southern  part 
of  New  York  State.  What's  more,  he  won  all  of 
his  races.  This  was  good  for  his  bicycle  business, 
which  thrived  in  the  summer,  but  languished  in 
the  winter.  During  the  dull  period  Curtiss  took 
up  electrical  work,  wiring  houses,  putting  in  elec- 
tric bells,  and  doing  similar  work  of  a  mechanical 
nature.  An  incident  is  told  of  his  mechanical 
skill  at  this  time  that  illustrates  his  inquisitive 
mind.  An  acetylene  gas  generator  in  one  of  the 
stores  got  out  of  order  one  day,  and  no  one  in  the 
store  could  tell  just  how  to  repair  it.  Curtiss 
had  never  seen  a  gas  generator,  but  that  did  not 
deter  him  from  going  at  it.  He  studied  it  out  in 
a  little  while  and  then  put  his  finger  on  the  trou- 
ble. After  that  the  generator  worked  better  than 
ever.  A  little  later  he  decided  to  build  a  gas  gen- 
erator after  his  own  ideas.  He  started  with  two 
tomato  cans  and  built  it. 

This  was  the  first  appearance  of  Curtiss'  two 
tomato  cans.  They  played  an  important  part  in 
his  subsequent  experimental  work,  figuring  all  the 
way  through  from  this  first  gas  generator  to  the 
carburetor  of  a  motorcycle,  and  at  last  to  enlarge 


BOYHOOD  DAYS  17 

the  water  capacity  of  Charles  K.  Hamilton's  en- 
gine on  his  aeroplane  so  that  he  might  cool  his 
engine  better  in  making  the  record  flight  from 
New  York  to  Philadelphia  and  return  in  the  same 
day.  In  this  first  case  the  two  tomato  cans  de- 
veloped into  an  acetylene  gas  plant  with  several 
improvements,  and  his  own  home  and  shop  were 
lighted  by  it.  Later  the  plant  was  enlarged  so  as 
to  furnish  light  for  several  business  houses  of 
Hammondsport. 


CHAPTER  in 

BUILDING  MOTORS  AND  MOTORCYCLE  RACING 

IN  the  spring  of  1900  Curtiss  embarked  in  the 
bicycle  business  for  himself,  opening  a  shop 
near  his  old  place  of  employment.  This  shop 
soon  came  to  be  known  as  the  "  industrial  incu- 
bator," because  experiments  of  many  kinds  were 
tried  there — a  hatching-place  for  all  sorts  of  new 
machines.  The  first  one  developed  was  destined 
to  open  up  to  Curtiss  a  new  field  of  action,  one 
that  furnished  the  opportunity  for  new  speed  rec- 
ords, and  enlarged  the  scope  of  his  activities  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  little  town  and  the  valley, 
and  spread  before  him  possibilities  as  wide  as  the 
boundaries  of  the  continent. 

Curtiss  had  ridden  a  bicycle  in  races,  and  got 
the  utmost  speed  out  of  it;  but  the  bicycle,  as  a 
man-propelled  vehicle,  did  not  travel  fast  enough 
to  suit  him.  He  therefore  set  about  devising 
means  for  increasing  its  speed  possibilities.  One 
day  Smellie,  his  old  employer,  came  into  Curtiss' 
shop,  tired  out  and  perspiring  from  his  efforts  in 
pedaling  his  bicycle  up  the  hill.  " Glenn,"  he 
said,  "I'm  going  to  give  the  blamed  thing  up  until 
they  get  something  to  push  it."  That  was  Cur- 

18 


MOTOES  AND  MOTOECYCLES         19 

tiss'  cue,  and  it  promptly  became  Ms  problem — 
getting  something  to  push  it!  He  determined  to 
mount  a  gasoline  engine  on  a  bicycle,  and  at  once 
began  to  search  for  the  necessary  castings.  Fi- 
nally he  secured  them  and  began  the  task  of 
building  a  motor.  Unfortunately,  the  man  who 
sold  him  the  castings  sent  no  instructions  for 
building  a  motor,  so  the  problem  was  left  to  Cur- 
tiss  and  to  those  who  interested  themselves  in  his 
work.  They  studied  and  planned  and  made  ex- 
periments, learning  something  new  about  motors 
all  the  while.  Eventually,  with  the  assistance  of 
local  mechanics,  the  castings  were  " machined" 
and  the  motor  assembled. 

Curtiss  afterward  described  it  as  a  remarkable 
contrivance ;  but  it  did  the  work.  This  motor  had 
a  two-inch  bore  and  a  two-an-a-half-inch  stroke, 
and  drove  the  bicycle  wheel  by  a  friction  roller 
pulley.  First,  Curtiss  made  the  pulley  of  wood, 
then  of  leather,  and  finally  of  rubber.  It  was 
tried  first  on  the  front  wheel  and  then  on  the  rear 
one,  and  so  numerous  were  the  changes  in  and 
additions  to  its  equipment,  that  the  bystanders — 
and  there  was  the  usual  number  of  these — saw 
only  the  humorous  side  of  the  thing  and  declared 
that  it  looked  like  a  sort  of  Happy  Hooligan  bi- 
cycle with  tin  cans  hung  on  wherever  there  was 
room.  The  tomato  can  again  came  to  the  front  in 
Curtiss'  experiments,  and  now  served  to  fashion 
a  rough  and  ready  sort  of  carburetor,  filled  with 


20       THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

gasoline  and  covered  over  with,  a  gauze  screen, 
which  sucked  up  the  liquid  by  capillary  attraction. 
Thus  it  vaporized  and  was  conducted  to  the  cylin- 
der by  a  pipe  from  the  top  of  the  can. 

Then  came  the  first  demonstration  of  a  bicycle 
driven  by  power  other  than  leg  muscles,  and  it  at- 
tracted almost  as  much  attention  in  Hammonds- 
port  as  the  first  bicycle  road  race  which  Curtiss 
had  won  some  years  before.  The  newfangled 
machine,  which  the  village  oracle  declared  could 
not  be  made  to  go  unless  the  rider  put  his  legs  to 
work,  did  not  promise  much  of  a  success  on  its 
initial  trip.  Curtiss  started  off  for  the  post-office, 
but  had  to  pedal  all  the  way  there,  the  motor  re- 
fusing to  do  its  part.  Coming  from  the  post-of- 
fice, however,  it  began  popping  and  shoved  the 
wheels  around  at  an  amazing  rate,  while  Curtiss 
sat  calmly  upright  and  viewed  the  excited  citizens 
of  Hammondsport  as  he  sped  by. 

That  was  the  beginning  of  Curtiss'  motorcycle; 
but  the  ambitious  inventor  did  not  rest  with  the 
first  success.  "Work  at  the  " incubator"  went  on 
unceasingly.  The  young  mechanical  genius  car- 
ried on  his  regular  duties  during  the  days  but 
spent  most  of  the  nights  in  his  experiments. 
Curtiss  would  not  have  said  that  he  worked 
nights,  but  that  he  spent  his  evenings  in  "doping 
out"  the  best  way  to  build  something.  He  has 
never  changed  his  habits  in  this  respect.  He  still 
"dopes  out"  something  for  the  next  day  or  the 


(A)  POST  CARD  SENT  BY  CURTISS  TO  HIS  WIFE,  JANUARY  24,   1907 

(B)  CURTISS    MAKING    WORLD'S     MOTORCYCLE     RECORD,    ORMOND 

BEACH 


MOTOES  AND  MOTORCYCLES         21 

next  month  while  "resting"  from  his  daylight  du- 
ties; though  the  process  would  now  be  expressed 
in  somewhat  more  scientific  terms.  In  truth,  one 
may  say  that  Curtiss  worked  all  the  time.  In  of- 
fice or  shop  hours,  like  other  persons,  he  did  what 
he  had  to  do ;  while  at  other  times  he  did  what  he 
wanted  to  do.  Curtiss  was  different  only  in  that 
he  wanted  to  do  those  things  which  other  people 
would  call  labor.  Experimental  work  was  recrea- 
tion to  Curtiss,  and  because  of  this  mental  atti- 
tude he  was  able  to  stick  at  a  task  day  and  night 
and  keep  up  ^ steam"  all  the  while. 

Curtiss  seldom  planned  on  paper.  Plans 
seemed  to  outline  themselves  in  his  active  mind, 
and  when,  later,  he  became  an  employer  of  a  num- 
ber of  men,  he  simply  outlined  his  ideas,  describ- 
ing just  what  he  wanted  to  accomplish,  and  left  it 
to  their  ingenuity.  Sometimes  one  of  his  assist- 
ants would  ask  him  a  question  and  after  standing 
for  minutes  as  if  he  had  not  heard,  Curtiss  would 
suddenly  reply  and  outline  a  task  which  it  would 
require  all  day  to  carry  out.  Once  Curtiss  had 
decided  that  a  certain  course  of  action  would 
bring  certain  mechanical  results,  it  usually  turned 
out  that  way,  and  because  of  this  and  the  further 
fact  that  he  was  as  good  a  workman  as  he  was  a 
designer,  the  men  he  had  gathered  around  him 
grew  to  regard  his  judgment  as  final  and  there- 
fore went  ahead  with  absolute  confidence  as  to  the 
results. 


22       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

There  was  a  remarkable  spirit  of  cooperation 
in  the  "  industrial  incubator. "  This  spirit  con- 
tinued through  the  early  years  of  Curtiss'  first 
business  successes,  and  it  obtains  to-day  in  the  big 
Curtiss  aeroplane  and  motor  factories  at  Ham- 
mondsport.  The  alertness  of  the  men  around 
Curtiss,  and  the  atmosphere  of  cooperation  may 
be  due,  in  some  measure,  to  the  curious  interest 
they  always  hold  as  to  what  he  will  do  next — and 
there  is  certain  to  be  something  happening  out  of 
the  ordinary.  Thus,  work  with  Curtiss  seldom 
becomes  monotonous  and  without  its  surprises. 

To  go  back  to  the  first  motor  Curtiss  built;  it 
was  quickly  found  to  be  too  small,  and  he  secured 
another  set  of  castings,  as  large  as  he  could  get. 
With  these  he  constructed  a  motor  with  a  cylin- 
der three  and  a  half  by  five  inches,  and  weighing 
a  hundred  and  ninety  pounds.  This  machine 
proved  to  be  a  terror.  It  is  true  that  it  exploded 
only  occasionally,  but  when  it  did  it  almost  tore 
itself  loose  from  the  frame.  But  it  drove  the  mo- 
torcycle as  fast  as  thirty  miles  an  hour  and  gained 
such  a  remarkable  reputation  in  Hammondsport 
that  a  story  is  still  told  in  the  town  of  the  time 
Curtiss  made  his  first  trip  with  it,  when  it  carried 
him  through  the  village,  up  over  the  steep  hills, 
through  North  Urbana  and  as  far  as  Wayne, 
where  it  ran  out  of  gasoline  and  came  to  a  stop  of 
its  own  accord. 

Thus  Curtiss  went  ahead  with  his  work  to  con- 


MOTOES  AND  MOTOBCYCLES         23 

struct  and  improve  his  motors,  and  improvement 
came  with  each  successive  one.  The  third  motor 
was  better  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  bicycle  and 
furnished  better  results.  Meantime,  Curtiss  be- 
gan to  receive  inquiries  and  even  some  orders, 
and  business  took  a  decidedly  favorable  turn. 
Judge  Monroe  Wheeler  took  a  great  liking  to  the 
young  man,  who  used  to  come  over  to  his  office  to 
get  the  judge's  stenographer  to  typewrite  his  let- 
ters, and  helped  him  to  establish  credit  at  the 
local  bank,  and  in  other  ways.  Half  a  dozen  fel- 
low-townsmen became  interested  enough  in  Cur- 
tiss' motorcycle  experiments  to  put  money  into 
the  business,  and  within  a  short  time  a  little  fac- 
tory was  built  on  the  hill  back  of  Grandma  Cur- 
tiss' house.  It  was  an  inconvenient  place  to  put 
up  a  factory,  and  all  the  heavy  material  was 
hauled  up  to  it  with  some  difficulty,  but  the  light, 
finished  product,  which  in  this  case  could  go  under 
its  own  power,  rolled  down  the  steep  grade  with- 
out trouble.  In  spite  of  these  little  obstacles;  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  Hammondsport  is  located  at 
the  end  of  a  little  branch  railroad  which  seems 
to  the  visitor  to  run  only  as  the  spirit  moves  the 
engineer — in  spite  of  every  handicap,  the  business 
grew  rapidly. 

Curtiss  was,  by  this  time,  happily  married  and 
Mrs.  Curtiss  helped  with  the  office  work  at  the 
factory,  which  stood  then,  as  it  does  to-day,  at  the 
very  back  door  of  the  old  Curtiss  homestead  on 


24       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

the  hillside.  Curtiss  used  to  take  out  his  best 
motorcycle  in  these  days  and  go  off  alone  to  all 
the  motorcycle  races  held  in  that  section  of  the 
State.  Incidentally,  he  scooped  in  all  the  prizes, 
for  he  had  the  fastest  machine,  and  he  was  a  fin- 
ished rider.  On  Memorial  Day  in  1903,  Curtiss 
ventured  far  afield  for  an  event  that  brought  him 
his  first  notices  in  the  big  newspapers  of  New 
York  City.  He  entered  and  won  a  hill-climbing 
contest  at  New  York  City,  on  Eiverside  Drive,  and 
immediately  afterward  mounted  his  wheel,  rode 
up  the  Hudson  to  another  race,  at  Empire  City 
Track,  and  won  that  also.  This  gave  him  the 
American  championship. 

Later,  at  Providence,  E.  L,  he  established  a 
world's  record  for  a  single-cylinder  motorcycle, 
covering  a  mile  in  fifty-six  and  two-fifths  seconds. 
While  this  was  phenomenal  speed,  it  was  as  noth- 
ing in  comparison  with  the  record  he  was  soon  to 
establish.  He  built  a  two-cylinder  motor  and  on 
January  28,  1904,  at  Ormond  Beach,  Florida,  he 
rode  ten  miles  in  eight  minutes  fifty-four  and 
two-fifth  seconds,  and  established  a  world's  record 
that  stood  for  more  than  seven  years.  Curtiss 
was  not  content  even  with  this.  He  wanted  to 
travel  faster  than  man  had  ever  traveled  before. 
He  had  built  a  forty  horse-power,  eight-cylinder 
motor  for  a  customer  who  wanted  it  to  put  in  a 
flying  machine  which  he  was  building,  and  in  or- 
der to  try  out  the  motor  Curtiss  built  an  especially 


MOTORS  AND  MOTORCYCLES         25 

strong  motorcycle,  using  an  automobile  tire  on 
the  rear  wheel  and  a  motorcycle  tire  on  the  front 
wheel.  On  a  strong  frame  the  big  forty  horse- 
power motor  was  mounted.  It  was  not  given  a 
thorough  try  out  at  Hammondsport,  for  it  was 
winter  and  snow  lay  deep  on  the  roads.  With  the 
aid  of  some  of  his  shopmen,  Curtiss  took  the 
freak  machine  out  on  the  snow-covered  roads, 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  if  it  could  be 
started  as  it  was  geared  in  the  machine.  It 
proved  that  it  would  start  all  right,  and  so  it  was 
hurriedly  boxed  and  rushed  to  the  train,  which 
was  actually  kept  waiting  several  minutes.  Cur- 
tiss was  going  South  to  make  new  records,  and 
even  the  railroad  men  on  the  little  branch  road 
from  Hammondsport  to  Bath,  felt  an  interest  in 
his  undertaking.  This,  by  the  way,  is  typical  of 
the  way  things  are  done  at  Hammondsport. 
When  there  is  need  for  rushing  matters,  the  men 
work  night  and  day  without  complaint.  These 
last-moment  rushes  are  often  due  to  the  giving  of 
much  thought  to  the  details  before  commencing 
to  build,  and  sometimes  because,  in  building,  im- 
provements which  must  be  incorporated  suggest 
themselves.  Curtiss'  rule,  as  he  expresses  it,  is: 
"What  is  the  need  of  racing  unless  you  think  you 
are  going  to  win ;  and  if  you  are  beaten  before  you 
start,  why  take  a  chance?' '  But  there  are  other 
considerations  for  the  builder  of  racing  machines 
to  take  into  account.  If  your  competitors  know 


26       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

what  you  are  doing,  and  they  will  know,  somehow, 
if  you  give  them  a  little  time,  they  will  go  you  one 
better.  Therefore,  this  belated  activity  at  the 
Curtiss  factory  is  not  always  without  its  motive. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  first  big  International  race 
for  the  Gordon  Bennett  aviation  trophy,  which 
Curtiss  won  at  Eheims,  France,  in  1909.  In  spite 
of  the  fact  that  Curtiss '  motor  was  built  in  a  great 
hurry,  barely  giving  the  necessary  time  to  finish 
it  and  reach  Eheims  for  the  race,  Bleriot,  the 
chief  French  builder  of  the  monoplane  type, 
changed  his  motor  as  soon  as  he  had  read  a  de- 
scription of  the  one  Curtiss  was  to  use. 

The  motorcycle  which  Curtiss  had  built  and 
mounted  with  the  eight-cylinder  motor  proved  to 
be  a  world-beater — the  fastest  vehicle  ever  built 
to  carry  a  man.  It  was  taken  to  Ormond  Beach, 
Florida,  where  it  was  tried  out  on  the  smooth 
sandy  shore,  which  stretches  for  miles,  as  level  as 
a  billiard  table  and  almost  as  hard  as  asphalt. 
Here,  on  January  24,  1907,  Curtiss  mounted  the 
heavy,  ungainly  vehicle  and  traveled  a  mile  in 
twenty-six  and  two-fifth  seconds,  at  the  rate  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  miles  an  hour! 
This  stands  to-day  as  the  speed  record  for  man 
and  machine.  Curtiss,  without  goggles  and  with 
no  special  precautions  in  the  matter  of  costume, 
simply  mounted  the  seat,  took  a  two-mile  running 
start  before  crossing  the  line,  and  was  off.  Bend- 
ing so  low  over  the  handle-bars  that  he  almost 


MOTOES  AND  MOTOBCYCLES         27 

seemed  to  be  lying  flat  and  merged  into  a  part  of 
the  machine  itself,  he  flashed  over  the  mile  course 
in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  read  these  dozen  lines. 
This  speed  trial  was  the  culmination  of  weeks  of 
study,  work,  and  experiment.  Day  after  day,  and 
even  at  night,  Curtiss  had  schemed  and  worked; 
now  to  get  the  weight  properly  placed  and  bal- 
anced; here  to  strengthen  the  frame  and  over- 
come the  danger  from  the  torque,  and  the  tendency 
to  turn  the  machine  over,  and  finally  to  obtain 
the  right  sort  of  tires  and  to  put  them  on  securely. 
Ordinary  tires,  on  wiieels  revolving  at  such  an 
amazing  speed,  would  have  been  cast  off  the  rims 
like  a  belt  off  a  pulley,  by  the  centrifugal  force. 

These  and  a  thousand  other  details  were  worked 
out  so  thoroughly  that  the  machine,  when  ready, 
required  very  little  testing  out.  In  describing  the 
trial  Curtiss  said  that  he  could  see  nothing  but  a 
streak  of  grey  beach  in  front  of  him,  a  blur  of 
hills  on  one  side,  and  the  white  ribbon  of  foaming 
surf  on  the  other.  The  great  crowd  that  watched 
the  smoking,  whirring  thing  that  flashed  by  as  if 
fired  from  a  great  gun,  caught  but  a  fleeting 
glimpse  of  Curtiss. 

The  record  could  not  be  accepted  as  official,  be- 
cause the  motor  was  too  big  and  powerful  to  be 
classed  as  a  motorcycle  engine.  It  therefore 
stands  as  an  absolutely  unique  performance,  un- 
equalled, and  not  even  approached  as  regards 
speed,  until  three  years  later,  when  Barney  Old- 


28       THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

field,  driving  a  two  hundred  horse-power  Benz 
automobile,  covered  a  mile  over  the  same  course 
in  twenty-seven  and  thirty-three  hundredths  sec- 
onds. 

Curtiss  had  developed,  improved,  and  exhausted 
the  motorcycle  as  far  as  speed  possibilities  were 
concerned,  and  was  soon  to  give  it  up  for  some- 
thing of  far  greater  potential  possibilities — the 
aeroplane. 


CHAPTEE  IV 

BALDWIN'S  BALLOON 

THOMAS  SCOTT  BALDWIN  was  engaged 
in  building  a  dirigible  balloon  in  Califor- 
nia when  he  chanced  to  see  a  new  motorcycle, 
the  motor  of  which  seemed  to  be  exactly  what  he 
wanted  to  propel  his  new  airship.  He  learned 
that  it  was  the  design  and  product  of  a  man 
named  Curtiss,  at  Hammondsport,  N.  Y.,  with 
whom  he  entered  into  correspondence.  The  re- 
sult was  that  Captain  Baldwin  went  to  Ham- 
mondsport for  a  personal  interview  with  the  man 
who  had  turned  out  the  motor. 

Baldwin  expected  to  find,  as  he  afterward  said, 
a  big,  important-looking  manufacturer,  and  great 
was  his  surprise  to  find  a  quiet,  unassuming  young 
man,  scarcely  more  than  a  youth.  The  jovial 
Baldwin  and  the  unobtrusive  Curtiss  became 
great  friends  at  once.  They  discussed  motors  of 
all  sorts,  but  particularly  motors  suitable  for  diri- 
gible balloons,  then  in  the  first  stage  of  develop- 
ment. When  Baldwin  asked  Curtiss  the  price  of 
one  of  the  type  then  used  in  the  Curtiss  motorcy- 
cle, he  was  surprised  at  its  cheapness,  and  ordered 
one  on  the  spot.  This  was  built  at  once  and 

29 


30       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

proved  successful.  Later  several  other  motors 
were  built  at  the  Curtiss  factory  for  Baldwin,  each 
one  showing  some  improvement,  and  some  of  them 
designed  to  meet  the  increasing  demand  for  a 
more  powerful  motor  of  light  weight  for  use  in 
dirigible  balloons.  As  a  natural  consequence  of 
Baldwin's  success  with  the  use  of  the  Curtiss 
motor,  it  was  but  a  short  time  until  it  came  to 
be  the  best  known  motor  in  America  for  aero- 
nautic work.  At  the  St.  Louis  World's  Fair,  in 
1904,  Captain  Baldwin's  " California  Arrow,"  the 
only  successful  airship  out  of  all  those  which 
were  brought  from  Europe  and  every  part  of 
America  to  contest  for  big  prizes,  was  equipped 
with  one  of  Curtiss'  motors.  Baldwin's  success 
at  St.  Louis  was  a  triumph  for  Curtiss,  and  soon 
all  dirigible  balloons  operating  in  this  country 
were  driven  by  Curtiss  motors. 

Hammondsport  was  now  to  have  a  new  sensation 
and  to  witness  an  experiment  which  eventually 
led  to  momentous  developments.  In  order  to  test 
the  power  of  the  motors  he  was  building  for  Cap- 
tain Baldwin,  and  for  the  purpose  of  determining 
the  efficiency  of  his  aerial  propeller,  Curtiss  con- 
structed a  "wind-wagon,"  a  three-wheel  vehicle 
with  the  motor  and  propeller  mounted  in  the  rear 
of  the  driver.  When  he  took  this  queer  contriv- 
ance out  on  the  road  for  its  first  trial,  the  town  of 
Hammondsport  turned  out  to  witness  the  fun. 
Consternation  among  the  usually  mild-eyed  work 


Ss 

«  o 

•<  s 


f 


NEARLY   UP   IN    THE   AIR 
(A)   The  wind  wagon — Curtiss  in  1904.      (B)    Ice  boat  with  aerial  propeller 


BALDWIN'S  BALLOON  31 

horses  spread  throughout  the  little  valley  as  the 
'  '  wind- wagon "  went  scooting  up  and  down  the 
dusty  roads,  creating  a  fearful  racket.  Before 
the  start  was  made  an  automobile  was  sent  ahead 
to  clear  the  way  and  to  warn  the  drivers  of  other 
vehicles.  The  automobile,  however,  was  quickly 
overhauled,  passed,  and  left  far  in  the  rear  by 
the  whirring,  spluttering,  three-wheeled  embry- 
onic flying  machine. 

Protests  by  farmers,  business-men  and  others 
quickly  followed  this  experiment.  They  argued 
that  it  frightened  the  horses,  made  travel  on  the 
roads  unsafe,  and  was  "bad  for  business  gener- 
ally/' As  the  machine  had  served  its  purpose 
with  Curtiss,  and  had  given  Hammondsport  its 
little  diversion,  the  famous  "  wind-wagon "  passed 
into  history,  and,  like  so  many  other  of  Curtiss' 
experiments,  remains  only  in  the  memories  of 
those  who  were  directly  interested  or  those  who 
watched  in  idle  curiosity. 

Other  airships  were  built  by  Baldwin  and  Cur- 
tiss from  time  to  time,  and  these  were  used  suc- 
cessfully in  giving  exhibitions  throughout  the 
United  States.  The  work  of  these  two  pioneers 
of  the  air  had  attracted  the  attention  of  the  United 
States  Government,  in  the  meantime,  and  great 
was  the  elation  at  Hammondsport  when  an  or- 
der came  from  the  War  Department  at  Wash- 
ington for  a  big  dirigible  balloon  for  the  use  of 
the  Signal  Corps.  Baldwin  was  commissioned  to 


32       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

build  the  balloon  and  Curtiss  the  motor  to  propel 
it.  This  was  an  important  undertaking,  and 
both  Baldwin  and  Curtiss  appreciated  the  fact. 
It  marked  the  beginning  of  Governmental  and 
military  interest  in  aeronautics  in  this  coun- 
try, the  possibilities  of  which  were  already  en- 
gaging the  attention  of  the  military  authorities 
of  Europe.  The  success  of  this  airship  meant 
much  to  both  men,  and  Baldwin  and  Curtiss 
worked  all  through  the  winter  of  1904-05  to 
make  it  so,  Baldwin,  meanwhile,  having  moved  to 
Hammondsport  in  order  to  be  in  touch  with  the 
Curtiss  factory,  where  all  the  mechanical  parts 
of  his  airships  were  being  made. 

In  order  to  meet  the  specifications  drawn  up  by 
the  War  Department,  the  big  airship  was  required 
to  make  a  continuous  flight  of  two  hours  under  the 
power  of  the  motor,  and  be  capable  of  manoeuvr- 
ing in  any  direction.  Curtiss  realised  that  in  or- 
der to  fill  these  requirements  a  new  type  motor 
would  be  needed.  He  designed  and  set  about 
building,  therefore,  a  water-cooled  motor,  some- 
thing which  had  not  been  attempted  at  the  Curtiss 
factory  up  to  this  time,  and  the  success  of  which 
marked  a  long  step  in  advance.  Although  Bald- 
win had  built  thirteen  dirigibles,  all  of  which  had 
been  equipped  with  motors  built  by  Curtiss,  and 
all  of  which  had  been  operated  successfully  in  ex- 
hibitions, the  Government  contract  was  his  most 
ambitious  undertaking.  About  the  balloon  itself, 


BALDWIN'S  BALLOON  33 

there  was  never  any  doubt;  the  thing  that  clung 
constantly  in  the  minds  of  these  men  who  were 
bending  every  effort  to  the  conquest  of  the  air, 
was :  "  Will  the  motor  do  its  work  in  a  two-hours' 
endurance  test,  and  will  it  furnish  the  necessary 
power  to  drive  the  big  airship  at  a  speed  of 
twenty  miles  an  hour?"  The  conditions  under 
which  the  trial  was  to  be  made  were  entirely 
unique.  The  motor  had  to  be  suspended  on  a 
light  but  substantial  framework  beneath  the  great 
gas-bag,  and  from  this  framework  the  pilot  and 
the  engineer  had  to  do  their  work. 

The  Army  dirigible  was  completed  on  time  and 
its  test  took  place  at  Washington  in  the  summer 
of  1905.  Captain  Baldwin  acted  as  pilot  and  Cur- 
tiss  as  engineer.  The  airship  met  every  specifi- 
cation and  was  accepted  by  the  Government.  A 
flight  of  two  hours'  duration  was  made  over  the 
wooded  hills  of  Virginia,  and  this  stands  to-day 
as  the  longest  continuous  flight  ever  made  by  a 
dirigible  airship  in  this  country. 


PAET  H 
MY  FIRST  FLIGHTS 

BY 

GLENN  H.  CUETISS 


CHAPTER  I 

BEGINNING  TO  FLY 

IN  1905,  while  in  New  York  City,  I  first  met  Dr. 
Alexander  Graham  Bell,  the  inventor  of  the 
telephone.  Dr.  Bell  had  learned  of  our  light- 
weight motors,  used  with  success  on  the  Baldwin 
dirigibles,  and  wanted  to  secure  one  for  use  in 
his  experiments  with  kites.  We  had  a  very  in- 
teresting talk  on  these  experiments,  and  he  asked 
me  to  visit  him  at  Bienn  Bhreagh,  his  summer 
home  near  Baddeck,  Nova  Scotia.  Dr.  Bell  had 
developed  some  wonderfully  light  and  strong  tet- 
rahedral  kites  which  possessed  great  inherent  sta- 
bility, and  he  wanted  a  motor  to  install  in  one  of 
them  for  purposes  of  experimentation.  This  kite 
was  a  very  large  one.  The  Doctor  called  it  an 
" aerodrome."  The  surfaces  not  being  planes,  it 
could  not  properly  be  described  as  an  aeroplane. 
He  believed  that  the  time  would  come  when  the 
framework  of  the  aeroplane  would  have  to  be  so 
large  in  proportion  to  its  surface  that  it  would  be 
too  heavy  to  fly.  Consequently,  he  evolved  the 
tetrahedral  or  cellular  form  of  structure,  which 
would  allow  of  the  size  being  increased  indefi- 

37 


38       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

nitely,  while  the  weight  would  be  increased  only 
in  the  same  ratio. 

Dr.  Bell  had  invited  two  young  Canadian  engi- 
neers, F.  W.  Baldwin  and  J.  A.  D.  McCurdy,  to 
assist  him,  and  they  were  at  Baddeck  when  I  first 
visited  there  in  the  summer  of  1907.  Lieutenant 
Thomas  Selfridge,  of  the  United  States  Army, 
was  also  there.  Naturally,  there  was  a  wide  dis- 
cussion on  the  subject  of  aeronautics,  and  so  nu- 
merous were  the  suggestions  made  and  so  many 
theories  advanced,  that  Mrs.  Bell  suggested  the 
formation  of  a  scientific  organisation,  to  be  known 
as  the  "Aerial  Experiment  Association."  This 
met  with  a  prompt  and  hearty  agreement  and  the 
association  was  created  very  much  in  the  same 
manner  as  Dr.  Bell  had  previously  formed  the 
"Volta  Association' '  at  Washington  for  develop- 
ing the  phonograph.  Mrs.  Bell,  who  was  most 
enthusiastic  and  helpful,  generously  offered  to 
furnish  the  necessary  funds  for  experimental 
work,  and  the  object  of  the  Association  was  offi- 
cially set  forth  as  "to  build  a  practical  aeroplane 
which  will  carry  a  man  and  be  driven  through  the 
air  by  its  own  power." 

Dr.  Alexander  Graham  Bell  was  made  chair- 
man; F.  "W.  Baldwin,  chief  engineer;  J.  A.  D. 
McCurdy,  assistant  engineer  and  treasurer;  and 
Lieut.  Thomas  Selfridge,  secretary;  while  I  was 
honored  with  the  title  of  Director  of  Experiments 
and  Chief  Executive  Officer.  Both  Baldwin  and 


STARTING  TO  FLY 

(A)    F.   W.  Baldwin  makes  first  public  flight  In   America.      (B)    The 
Bug,"  June,  1908.      (C)   Baldwin  in  Aerial  Association's  Glider 


June 


BEGINNING  TO  FLY  39 

McCurdy  were  fresh  from  Toronto  University, 
where  they  had  graduated  as  mechanical  engi- 
neers, and  Baldwin  later  earned  the  distinction  of 
making  the  first  public  flight  in  a  motor-driven, 
heavier-than-air  machine.  This  was  accomplished 
at  Hammondsport,  N.  Y.,  March  12,  1908,  over  the 
ice  on  Lake  Keuka.  The  machine  used  was  Num- 
ber One,  built  by  the  Aerial  Experiment  Associa- 
tion, designed  by  Lieutenant  Self  ridge,  and  known 
as  "The  Bed  Wing."  The  experiments  carried 
on  at  Baddeck  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1907 
covered  a  wide  range.  There  were  trials  and 
tests  with  Dr.  Bell's  tetrahedral  kites,  with  mo- 
tors, and  with  aerial  propellers  mounted  on  boats. 
Finally,  at  the  suggestion  of  Lieutenant  Selfridge, 
it  was  decided  to  move  the  scene  of  further  experi- 
ments to  Hammondsport,  N.  Y.,  where  my  factory 
is  located,  and  there  to  build  a  glider.  I  had  pre- 
ceded the  other  members  of  the  Association  from 
Baddeck  to  Hammondsport  in  order  to  prepare 
for  the  continuance  of  our  work.  A  few  days  after 
my  return  I  was  in  my  office,  talking  to  Mr.  Augus- 
tus Post,  then  the  Secretary  of  the  Aero  Club 
of  America,  when  a  telegram  came  from  Dr.  Bell, 
saying:  "Start  building.  The  boys  will  be  down 
next  week."  As  no  plans  had  been  outlined,  and 
nothing  definite  settled  upon  in  the  way  of  imme- 
diate experiments,  I  was  somewhat  undecided  as 
to  just  what  to  build.  We  then  discussed  the  sub- 
ject of  gliders  for  some  time  and  I  finally  decided 


40       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

that  the  thing  to  do  was  to  build  a  glider  at  the 
factory  and  to  take  advantage  of  the  very  abrupt 
and  convenient  hills  at  Hammondsport  to  try  it 
out.  We  therefore  built  a  double-surface  glider 
of  the  Chanute  type. 

As  almost  every  schoolboy  knows  in  this  day  of 
advanced  information  on  aviation,  a  glider  is, 
roughly  speaking,  an  aeroplane  without  a  motor. 
Usually  it  has  practically  the  same  surfaces  as  a 
modern  aeroplane,  and  may  be  made  to  support  a 
passenger  by  launching  it  from  the  top  of  a  hill 
in  order  to  give  it  sufficient  impetus  to  sustain  its 
own  weight  and  that  of  a  rider.  If  the  hill  is 
steep  the  glider  will  descend  at  a  smaller  angle 
than  the  slope  of  the  hill,  and  thus  glides  of  a 
considerable  distance  may  be  made  with  ease  and 
comparative  safety. 

Our  first  trials  of  the  glider,  which  we  built  on 
the  arrival  of  the  members  of  the  Experiment  As- 
sociation, were  made  in  the  dead  of  winter,  when 
the  snow  lay  deep  over  the  hillsides.  This  made 
very  hard  work  for  everybody.  It  was  a  case  of 
trudging  laboriously  up  the  steep  hillsides  and 
hauling  or  carrying  the  glider  to  the  top  by  slow 
stages.  It  was  easy  enough  going  down,  but  slow 
work  going  up;  but  we  continued  our  trials  with 
varied  success  until  we  considered  ourselves  skil- 
ful enough  to  undertake  a  motor-driven  machine, 
which  we  mounted  on  runners. 


CHAPTEB  II 

FIRST  FLIGHTS 

IT  was  my  desire  to  build  a  machine  and  install 
a  motor  at  once,  and  thus  take  advantage  of 
the  opportunity  furnished  by  the  thick,  smooth 
ice  over  Lake  Keuka  at  that  season  of  the  year. 
But  Lieutenant  Selfridge,  who  had  read  a  great 
deal  about  gliders  and  who  had  studied  them 
from  every  angle,  believed  we  should  continue 
experimenting  with  the  glider.  However,  we 
decided  to  build  a  machine  which  we  believed 
would  fly,  and  in  due  time  a  motor  was  installed 
and  it  was  taken  down  on  Lake  Keuka  to  be  tried 
out.  We  called  it  the  "Red  Wing,"  and  to  Lieu- 
tenant Selfridge  belongs  the  honour  of  designing 
it,  though  all  the  members  of  the  Aerial  Experi- 
ment Association  had  some  hand  in  its  con- 
struction. We  all  had  our  own  ideas  about  the 
design  of  this  first  machine,  but  to  Lieutenant 
Selfridge  was  left  the  privilege  of  accepting  or 
rejecting  the  many  suggestions  made  from  time 
to  time,  in  order  that  greater  progress  might 
be  made.  A  number  of  our  suggestions  were 
accepted,  and  while  the  machine  as  completed 

41 


42       THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

cannot  properly  be  described  as  the  result  of 
one  man's  ideas,  the  honour  of  being  the  final  ar- 
biter of  all  the  problems  of  its  design  certainly 
belongs  to  Lieutenant  Selfridge. 

Now  that  the  machine  was  completed  and  the 
motor  installed,  we  waited  for  favourable  weather 
to  make  the  first  trial.  Winter  weather  around 
Lake  Keuka  is  a  very  uncertain  element,  and  we 
had  a  long,  tiresome  wait  until  the  wintry  gales 
that  blew  out  of  the  north  gave  way  to  an  intensely 
cold  spell.  Our  opportunity  came  on  March  12, 
1908.  There  was  scarcely  a  bit  of  wind,  but  it 
was  bitterly  cold.  Unfortunately,  Lieutenant 
Selfridge  was  absent,  having  left  Hammondsport 
on  business,  and  "  Casey "  Baldwin  was  selected 
to  make  the  first  trial.  We  were  all  on  edge  with 
eagerness  to  see  what  the  machine  would  do. 
Same  of  us  were  confident,  others  sceptical. 

Baldwin  climbed  into  the  seat,  took  the  control 
in  hand,  and  we  cranked  the  motor.  When  we 
released  our  hold  of  the  machine,  it  sped  over  the 
ice  like  a  scared  rabbit  for  two  or  three  hundred 
feet,  and  then,  much  to  our  joy,  it  jumped  into 
the  air.  This  was  what  we  had  worked  for 
through  many  long  months,  and  naturally  we 
watched  the  brief  and  uncertain  course  of  Baldwin 
with  a  good  deal  of  emotion.  Rising  to  a  height 
of  six  or  eight  feet,  Baldwin  flew  the  unheard-of 
distance  of  three  hundred  and  eighteen  feet, 
eleven  inches!  Then  he  came  down  ingloriously 


FIEST  FLIGHTS  43 

on  one  wing.  As  we  learned  afterward,  the  frail 
framework  of  the  tail  had  bent  and  the  machine 
had  flopped  over  on  its  side  and  dropped  on  the 
wing,  which  gave  way  and  caused  the  machine  to 
turn  completely  around. 

But  it  had  been  a  successful  flight — and  we  took 
no  toll  of  the  damage  to  the  machine  or  the  cost. 
We  had  succeeded !  that  was  the  main  thing.  We 
had  actually  flown  the  "Bed  Wing"  three  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  feet  and  eleven  inches!  We 
knew  now  we  could  build  a  machine  that  would 
fly  longer  and  come  down  at  the  direction  of  the 
operator  with  safety  to  both. 

It  had  taken  just  seven  weeks  to  build  the  ma- 
chine and  to  get  it  ready  for  the  trial ;  it  had  taken 
just  about  twenty  seconds  to  smash  it. 

But  a  great  thing  had  been  accomplished.  We 
had  achieved  the  first  public  flight  of  a  heavier- 
than-air  machine  in  America! 

As  our  original  plans  provided  for  the  building 
of  one  machine  designed  by  each  member  of  the 
Association,  with  the  assistance  of  all  the  others, 
the  building  of  the  next  one  fell  to  Mr.  Baldwin, 
and  it  was  called  the  ' '  White  Wing. ' '  The  design 
of  the  "Red  Wing"  was  followed  in  many  details, 
but  several  things  were  added  which  we  believed 
would  give  increased  stability  and  greater  flying 
power.  The  construction  of  the  "White  Wing" 
was  begun  at  once,  but  before  we  could  complete 
it  the  ice  on  the  lake  had  yielded  to  the  spring 


44       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

winds  and  we  were  therefore  obliged  to  transfer 
our  future  trials  to  land.  This  required  wheels 
for  starting  and  alighting  in  the  place  of  the  ice 
runners  used  on  the  "Red  Wing."  An  old  half- 
mile  race  track  a  short  distance  up  the  valley 
from  the  Lake  was  rented  and  put  in  shape  for 
flights.  The  place  was  called  "Stony  Brook 
Farm,"  and  it  was  for  a  long  time  afterward  the 
scene  of  our  flying  exploits  at  Hammondsport. 

It  would  be  tiresome  to  the  reader  to  be  told  of 
all  the  discouragements  we  met  with;  of  the  dis- 
heartening smashes  we  suffered;  how  almost  ev- 
ery time  we  managed  to  get  the  new  machine  off 
the  ground  for  brief  but  encouraging  flights,  it 
would  come  down  so  hard  that  something  would 
give  way  and  we  would  have  to  set  about  the  task 
of  building  it  up  again.  We  soon  learned  that  it 
was  comparatively  easy  to  get  the  machine  up  in 
the  air,  but  it  was  most  difficult  to  get  it  back  to 
earth  without  smashing  something.  The  fact 
was,  we  had  not  learned  the  art  of  landing  an 
aeroplane  with  ease  and  safety — an  absolutely 
necessary  art  for  every  successful  aviator  to 
know.  It  seemed  one  day  that  the  limit  of  hard 
luck  had  been  reached,  when,  after  a  brief  flight 
and  a  somewhat  rough  landing,  the  machine 
folded  up  and  sank  down  on  its  side,  like  a 
wounded  bird,  just  as  we  were  feeling  pretty  good 
over  a  successful  landing  without  breakage. 

Changes  in  the  details  of  the  machine  were  many 


FIKST  FLIGHTS  45 

and  frequent,  and  after  each  change  there  was  a 
flight  or  an  attempted  flight.  Sometimes  we  man- 
aged to  make  quite  a  flight,  and  others — and  more 
numerous — merely  short  "jumps"  that  would 
land  the  machine  in  a  potato  patch  or  a  cornfield, 
where,  in  the  yielding  ground,  the  wheels  would 
crumple  up  and  let  the  whole  thing  down.  Up 
to  this  time  we  had  always  used  silk  to  cover  the 
planes,  but  this  proved  very  expensive  and  we  de- 
cided to  try  a  substitute.  An  entirely  new  set  of 
planes  were  made  and  the  new  covering  put  on 
them.  They  looked  very  pretty  and  white  as  we 
took  the  rebuilt  machine  out  with  every  expecta- 
tion that  it  would  fly.  Great  was  our  surprise, 
however,  when  it  refused  absolutely  to  make  even 
an  encouraging  jump.  For  a  time  we  were  at  a 
loss  to  understand  it.  Then  the  reason  became 
as  plain  as  day;  we  had  used  cotton  to  cover  the 
planes,  and,  being  porous,  it  would  not  furnish  the 
sustaining  power  in  flight.  This  was  quickly  rem- 
edied by  coating  the  cotton  covering  with  varnish, 
rendering  it  impervious  to  the  air.  After  that  it 
flew  all  right.  I  believe  this  was  the  first  instance 
of  the  use  of  a  liquid  filler  to  coat  the  surface 
cloth.  It  is  now  used  widely,  both  in  this  country 
and  in  Europe. 

We  had  a  great  many  minor  misfortunes  with 
the  "White  Wing,"  but  each  one  taught  us  a  les- 
son. We  gradually  learned  where  the  stresses 
and  strains  lay,  and  overcame  them.  Thus,  little 


46       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

by  little,  the  machine  was  reduced  in  weight, 
simplified  in  detail,  and  finally  took  on  some  sem- 
blance to  the  standard  Curtiss  aeroplane  of  to- 
day. 

All  the  members  of  the  Aerial  Experiment  As- 
sociation were  in  Hammondsport  at  this  time,  in- 
cluding Dr.  Alexander  Graham  Bell.  We  had 
established  an  office  in  the  annex  which  had  been 
built  on  the  Curtiss  homestead,  and  here  took  place 
nightly  discussions  on  the  work  of  the  day  past 
and  the  plans  for  the  day  to  follow.  Some  of  the 
boys  named  the  office  the  "thinkorium."  Every 
night  the  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting  would 
be  read  and  discussed.  These  minutes,  by  the 
way,  were  religiously  kept  by  Lieutenant  Self- 
ridge  and  later  published  in  the  form  of  a  bulletin 
and  sent  to  each  member.  Marvellous  in  range 
were  the  subjects  brought  up  and  talked  over  at 
these  meetings!  Dr.  Bell  was  the  source  of  the 
most  unusual  suggestions  for  discussion.  Usually 
these  were  things  he  had  given  a  great  deal  of 
thought  and  time  to,  and,  therefore,  his  opinions 
on  any  of  his  hobbies  were  most  interesting.  For 
instance,  he  had  collected  a  great  deal  of  informa- 
tion on  the  genealogy  of  the  Hyde  family,  com- 
prising some  seven  thousand  individuals.  These 
he  had  arranged  in  his  card  index  system,  in  order 
to  determine  the  proportion  of  male  and  female 
individuals,  their  relative  length  of  life,  and  other 


FIKST  FLIGHTS  47 

characteristics.  Or,  perhaps,  the  Doctor  would 
talk  about  his  scheme  to  influence  the  sex  of  sheep 
by  a  certain  method  of  feeding;  his  early  experi- 
ences with  the  telephone,  the  phonograph,  the  har- 
monic telegraph,  and  multiple  telegraphy.  At 
other  times  we  would  do  a  jig-saw  puzzle  with 
pictures  of  aeroplanes,  or  listen  to  lectures  on 
physical  culture  by  Dr.  Alden,  of  the  village. 
Then,  for  a  change,  we  would  discuss,  with  great 
interest  and  sincerity,  the  various  methods  of  mak- 
ing sounds  to  accompany  the  action  of  a  picture, 
behind  the  curtain  of  the  moving-picture  show, 
which  we  all  had  attended.  Motorcycle  construc- 
tion and  operation  were  studied  at  the  factory 
and  on  the  roads  around  Hammondsport.  Mc- 
Curdy  used  to  give  us  daily  demonstrations  of 
how  to  fall  off  a  motorcycle  scientifically.  He  fell 
off  so  often,  in  fact,  that  we  feared  he  would  never 
make  an  aviator.  In  this  opinion,  of  course,  we 
were  very  much  in  error,  as  he  became  one  of  the 
first,  and  also  one  of  the  best  aviators  in  the  coun- 
try. Atmospheric  pressure,  the  vacuum  motor, 
Dr.  Bell's  tetrahedral  construction,  and  even  as- 
tronomical subjects — all  found  a  place  in  the 
nightly  discussions  at  the  "thinkorium." 

Of  course  there  were  many  important  things 
that  took  up  our  attention,  but  we  could  not  always 
be  grave  and  dignified.  I  recall  one  evening 
somebody  started  a  discussion  on  the  idea  of  ele- 


48       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

vating  Trinity  Church,  in  New  York  City,  on  the 
top  of  a  skyscraper,  and  using  the  revenue  from 
the  ground  rental  to  convert  the  heathen.  This 
gave  a  decided  shock  to  a  ministerial  visitor  who 
happened  to  be  present. 

When  summer  came  on  there  were  frequent  mo- 
torcycle trips  when  the  weather  did  not  permit  of 
flying,  or  when  the  shop  was  at  work  repairing 
one  of  our  frequent  smashes.  "  Casey "  Baldwin 
and  McCurdy  furnished  a  surprise  one  day  by  a 
rather  unusual  long-distance  trip  on  motorcycles. 
" Let's  go  up  to  Hamilton,  Ontario,"  said  Bald- 
win, probably  choosing  Hamilton  as  the  destina- 
tion because  he  was  charged  with  having  a  sweet- 
heart there. 

"All  right,"  answered  McCurdy. 

Without  a  moment's  hesitation  the  two  mounted 
their  wheels,  not  even  stopping  to  get  their  caps, 
and  rode  through  to  Hamilton,  a  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  distant,  buying  everything  they  required 
along  the  way.  They  were  gone  a  week  and  came 
back  by  the  same  route. 

A  favourite  subject  of  talk  at  the  "thinkorium," 
at  least  between  McCurdy  and  Selfridge,  was  on 
some  of  the  effects  of  the  "torque"  of  a  propeller 
and  whenever  this  arose  we  would  expect  the  ar- 
gument to  keep  up  until  one  or  the  other  would 
fall  asleep. 

After  the  nightly  formal  sessions  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Association  the  courtesy  of  the  floor 


FIEST  FLIGHTS  49 

was  extended  to  any  one  who  might  be  present 
for  the  discussion  of  anything  he  might  see  fit 
to  bring  up.  Later  we  would  adjourn  to  Dr. 
Bell's  room,  where  he  would  put  himself  into  a 
comfortable  position,  light  his  inevitable  pipe,  and 
produce  his  note  books.  In  these  note  books  Dr. 
Bell  would  write  down  everything — his  thoughts 
on  every  subject  imaginable,  his  ideas  about  many 
things,  sketches,  computations.  All  these  he 
would  sign,  date,  and  have  witnessed.  It  was 
Dr.  Bell's  custom  to  work  at  night  when  there 
were  no  distracting  noises,  though  there  were  few 
of  these  at  Hammondsport  even  during  the  day- 
light hours;  at  night  it  is  quiet  enough  for  the 
most  exacting  victim  of  insomnia.  Dr.  Bell  often 
sat  up  until  long  after  midnight,  but  he  made  up 
for  the  lost  time  by  sleeping  until  noon.  No  one 
was  allowed  to  wake  him  for  any  reason.  The 
rest  of  us  were  up  early  in  order  to  take  advantage 
of  the  favourable  flying  conditions  during  the  early 
morning  hours.  Dr.  Bell  had  a  strong  aversion 
to  the  ringing  of  the  telephone  bell — the  great  in- 
vention for  which  he  is  responsible.  I  occasion- 
ally went  into  his  room  and  found  the  bell  stuffed 
with  paper,  or  wound  around  with  towels. 

"Little  did  I  think  when  I  invented  this  thing," 
said  Dr.  Bell,  one  day  when  he  had  been  awakened 
by  the  jingling  of  the  bell,  "that  it  would  rise  up 
to  mock  and  annoy  me." 

While  the  Doctor  enjoyed  his  morning  sleep  we 


50       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

were  out  on  " Stony  Brook  Farm"  trying  to  fly. 
We  had  put  up  a  tent  against  the  side  of  an  old 
sheep  barn,  and  out  of  this  we  would  haul  the  ma- 
chine while  the  grass  was  still  wet  with  dew. 
One  never  knew  what  to  expect  of  it.  Sometimes 
a  short  flight  would  be  made;  at  others,  some- 
thing would  break.  Or,  maybe,  the  wind  would 
come  up  and  this  would  force  us  to  abandon  all 
further  trials  for  the  day.  Then  it  was  back  to 
the  shop  to  work  on  some  new  device,  or  to  repair 
damages  until  the  wind  died  out  with  the  setting 
of  the  sun.  Early  in  the  morning  and  late  in 
the  evening  were  the  best  periods  of  the  day  for 
our  experimental  work  because  of  the  absence  of 
wind. 

On  May  22,  1908,  our  second  machine,  the 
" White  Wing,"  was  brought  to  such  a  state  of 
perfection  that  I  flew  it  a  distance  of  one  thousand 
and  seventeen  feet  in  nineteen  seconds,  and  landed 
without  damage  in  a  ploughed  field  outside  the  old 
race  track.  It  was  regarded  as  a  remarkable 
flight  at  that  time,  and  naturally,  I  felt  very  much 
elated. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  "JUNE  BUG"— FIRST  FLIGHTS  FOR  THE  SCIEN- 
TIFIC AMERICAN  TROPHY  AND  FIRST  EXPERIMENTS 
WITH  THE  HYDROAEROPLANE 

FOLLOWING  the  success  of  the  "  White 
Wing/'  we  started  in  to  build  another  ma- 
chine, embodying  all  that  we  had  learned  from  our 
experience  with  the  two  previous  ones.  Follow- 
ing our  custom  of  giving  each  machine  a  name  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  preceding  one,  we  called 
this  third  aeroplane  the  "  June  Bug."  The  name 
was  aptly  chosen,  for  it  was  a  success  from  the 
very  beginning.  Indeed,  it  flew  so  well  that  we 
soon  decided  it  was  good  enough  to  win  the  trophy 
which  had  been  offered  by  The  Scientific  Ameri- 
can for  the  first  public  flight  of  one  kilometer,  or 
five-eights  of  a  mile,  straightaway.  This  trophy, 
by  the  way,  was  the  first  to  be  offered  in  this 
country  for  an  aeroplane  flight,  and  the  condi- 
tions specified  that  it  should  become  the  property 
of  the  person  winning  it  three  years  in  succession. 
The  "June  Bug"  was  given  a  thorough  try-out 
before  we  made  arrangements  to  fly  for  the  tro- 
phy, and  we  were  confident  it  would  fulfill  the 
requirements. 

51 


52       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

The  Fourth  of  July,  1908,  was  the  day  set  for 
the  trial.  A  large  delegation  of  aero-club  mem- 
bers came  on  from  New  York  and  Washington, 
among  whom  were  Stanley  Y.  Beach,  Allan  E. 
Hawley,  Augustus  Post,  David  Fairchild,  Chas. 
M.  Manley,  Christopher  J.  Lake,  A.  M.  Herring, 
George  H.  Guy,  E.  L.  Jones,  Wilbur  E.  Kimball, 
Captain  Thomas  S.  Baldwin  and  many  other  per- 
sonal friends.  The  excitement  among  the  citizens 
of  Hammondsport  in  general  was  little  less  than 
that  existing  among  the  members  of  the  Aerial 
Experiment  Association,  and  seldom  had  the 
Fourth  of  July  been  awaited  with  greater  im- 
patience. 

When  Independence  Day  finally  dawned  it  did 
not  look  auspicious  for  the  first  official  aeroplane 
flight  for  a  trophy.  Clouds  boded  rain  and  there 
was  some  wind.  This  did  not  deter  the  entire 
population  of  Hammondsport  from  gathering  on 
the  heights  around  the  flying  field,  under  the  trees 
in  the  valley  and,  in  fact,  at  every  point  of  van- 
tage. Some  were  on  the  scene  as  early  as  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  many  brought  along 
baskets  of  food  and  made  a  picnic  of  it.  The  rain 
came  along  toward  noon,  but  the  crowd  hoisted 
its  umbrellas  or  sought  shelter  under  the  trees 
and  stayed  on.  Late  in  the  afternoon  the  sky 
cleared  and  it  began  to  look  as  if  we  were  to  have 
the  chance  to  fly  after  all.  The  "  June  Bug"  was 
brought  out  of  its  tent  and  the  motor  given  a  try- 


, 
v 


THE   FIRST   MACHINES 

(A)    "The  White  Wing,"  Baldwin  driving,  1908.     (B)    Selfrldge's  "Red  Wing" 
on  the  ice,  Lake  Keuka 


THE  "JUNE  BUG"  53 

out.  It  worked  all  right.  The  course  was  meas 
ured  and  a  flag  put  up  to  mark  the  end.  Every- 
thing was  ready  and  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening  the  motor  was  started  and  I  climbed  into 
the  seat.  When  I  gave  the  word  to  "let  go"  the 
"June  Bug"  skimmed  along  over  the  old  race 
track  for  perhaps  two  hundred  feet  and  then  rose 
gracefully  into  the  air.  The  crowd  set  up  a 
hearty  cheer,  as  I  was  told  later — for  I  could  hear 
nothing  but  the  roar  of  the  motor  and  I  saw  noth- 
ing except  the  course  and  the  flag  marking  a  dis- 
tance of  one  kilometer.  The  flag  was  quickly 
reached  and  passed  and  still  I  kept  the  aeroplane 
up,  flying  as  far  as  the  open  fields  would  permit, 
and  finally  coming  down  safely  in  a  meadow,  fully 
a  mile  from  the  starting  place.  I  had  thus  ex- 
ceeded the  requirements  and  had  won  the  Scien- 
tific American  Trophy  for  the  first  time.  I  might 
have  gone  a  great  deal  farther,  as  the  motor  was 
working  beautifully  and  I  had  the  machine  under 
perfect  control,  but  to  have  prolonged  the  flight 
would  have  meant  a  turn  in  the  air  or  passing 
over  a  number  of  large  trees.  The  speed  of  this 
first  official  flight  was  closely  computed  at  thirty- 
nine  miles  an  hour. 

Dr.  Bell  had  gone  to  Nova  Scotia,  unfortunately, 
and,  therefore,  did  not  witness  the  Fourth  of  July 
flight  of  the  "June  Bug."  The  other  members, 
however,  were  all  present.  It  was  a  great  day 
for  all  of  us  and  we  were  more  confident  than  ever 


54       THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

that  we  had  evolved,  out  of  our  long  and  costly 
experiments,  a  machine  that  would  fly  successfully 
and  with  safety  to  the  operator.  Lieutenant  Self- 
ridge  was  particularly  enthusiastic,  and  I  recall 
when  Mr.  Holcomb,  special  agent  for  a  life  in- 
surance company,  visited  the  field  one  day  and 
heard  Selfridge  talk  about  flying. 

"You  must  be  careful,  Selfridge,"  said  Mr. 
Holcomb,  "or  we  will  need  a  bed  for  you  in  the 
hospital  of  which  I  am  a  trustee." 

"Oh,  I  am  careful,  all  right,"  replied  Selfridge, 
but  it  was  only  a  few  days  later  when  he  left  Ham- 
mondsport  for  Washington,  and  was  killed  while 
flying  as  a  passenger  with  Orville  Wright  at  Fort 
Meyer. 

In  Selfridge  we  lost  not  only  one  of  the  best- 
posted  men  in  the  field  of  aeronautics,  a  student 
and  a  man  of  practical  ideas,  but  one  of  our  best- 
loved  companions  and  co-workers,  as  well. 

Three  machines  had  thus  far  been  built  and 
flown,  first  the  "Bed  Wing,"  designed  by  Lieuten- 
ant Selfridge;  next  the  "White  Wing,"  by  Bald- 
win, and  last  the  ' l  June  Bug, ' '  by  me.  It  was  now 
McCurdy's  turn  and  he  designed  a  machine  which 
he  named  the  "Silver  Dart."  While  this  was 
building  we  decided  to  take  the  "June  Bug"  down 
to  the  lake,  equip  it  with  a  set  of  pontoons,  or  a 
boat,  and  attempt  to  fly  from  the  water.  It  was 
my  idea  that  if  we  could  design  a  float  that  would 
sustain  the  aeroplane  on  an  even  keel  and  at  the 


THE  "JUNE  BUG"  55 

same  time  furnish  a  minimum  of  resistance,  we 
would  be  able  to  get  up  enough  speed  to  rise  from 
the  water.  Besides,  the  lake  would  afford  an  ideal 
flying  place,  and,  what  was  more  important  still, 
a  fall  or  a  bad  landing  would  not  be  nearly  so 
likely  to  result  in  injury  to  the  aviator. 

Accordingly,  we  mounted  the  "June  Bug"  on 
two  floats,  built  something  like  a  catamaran,  and 
re-named  it  the  "Loon."  It  required  some  time 
to  construct  light  and  strong  floats  and  it  was  not 
until  the  beginning  of  November,  1908,  that  we 
were  ready  for  the  first  attempt  to  fly  from  the 
water  ever  made  in  this  or  any  other  country. 
The  "Loon"  was  hauled  down  to  the  lake  from 
the  aerodrome  on  a  two-wheeled  cart,  there  being 
no  wheels  for  rolling  it  over  the  ground.  I  re- 
member we  had  to  build  a  platform  on  the  cart 
and  to  strengthen  the  wheels  to  carry  the  weight 
of  nearly  one  thousand  pounds  which  the  added 
equipment  had  brought  the  total  weight  up  to. 

This  first  experimental  hydroaeroplane  was  a 
crude  affair  as  compared  with  the  machine  in 
which  I  made  the  first  successful  flight  from  and 
landing  upon  the  water,  more  than  three  years 
later  at  San  Diego,  Cal.  The  cleaner  lines,  the 
neat,  light-weight  boat  and  the  other  details  of  the 
Curtiss  hydroaeroplane  offer  as  striking  a  con- 
trast to  the  "Loon"  as  the  modern  locomotive  of- 
fers to  the  crude,  clumsy  affairs  that  now  exist 
only  in  the  museums.  So  great  is  the  difference 


56       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

that  one  is  inclined  to  marvel  that  we  had  any 
success  whatever  with  the  first  design. 

We  made  many  attempts  to  rise  from  the  water 
in  the  "Loon,"  but  owing  to  the  great  weight 
were  unable  to  make  any  real  flights,  although 
the  observers  on  shore  were  sure  that  the  pon- 
toons were  sometimes  clear  of  the  water.  By  the 
end  of  November  our  experiments  had  convinced 
every  one  of  us  that  we  needed  more  power — and 
more  time  than  we  had  at  our  disposal  just  then. 
The  best  motor  we  had  at  our  command  was  able 
to  deliver  only  enough  power  to  drive  the  "Loon" 
at  twenty-five  miles  an  hour  on  the  water.  This 
was  not  enough  to  get  the  machine  into  the  air, 
unless  assisted  by  a  strong  head  wind,  and  we 
were  not  anxious  to  try  flying  in  a  strong  wind. 

In  the  meantime  McCurdy 's  machine,  the  "Sil- 
ver Dart,"  had  been  completed  and  mounted  on 
wheels.  The  first  flight  was  made  by  McCurdy  on 
December  12, 1908,  over  the  "Stony  Brook"  flying 
field.  The  "Silver  Dart"  was  practically  the 
same  as  the  "June  Bug."  Shortly  after  this  it 
was  shipped  to  Dr.  Bell's  place  at  Baddeck,  Nova 
Scotia,  where  McCurdy  and  "Casey"  Baldwin 
used  it  all  through  the  winter  in  practice,  making 
flights  from  the  ice  and  covering  all  the  country 
thereabouts.  McCurdy  estimates  that  in  his  some 
two  hundred  flights  in  the  "Silver  Dart,"  he  cov- 
ered more  than  a  thousand  miles. 


CHAPTEE  IV 

FIRST  FLIGHTS  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY 

AS  a  result  of  the  winning  of  the  Scientific 
American  Trophy,  the  Aeronautical  Society 
of  New  York  City  placed  an  order  in  the  winter 
of  1908-09  for  an  aeroplane  to  be  demonstrated 
at  Morris  Park  Track,  New  York  City,  in  the 
spring. 

Plans  were  outlined  for  enlarging  the  Ham- 
mondsport  factory  and  work  commenced  on  the 
machine  ordered  by  the  Aeronautical  Society.  It 
was  the  plan  of  this  Society  to  purchase  the  aero- 
plane and  have  one  or  more  of  its  members  taught 
to  fly  it.  The  machine  was  finished  in  due  time, 
thoroughly  tried  out  at  Hammondsport  before  it 
was  shipped  to  New  York,  and  finally  sent  to  the 
old  Morris  Park  Eace  Track,  where  the  Aeronaut- 
ical Society  had  arranged  for  the  first  public 
exhibition  ever  held  in  the  history  of  aviation. 
There,  on  June  26, 1909, 1  had  the  honour  of  mak- 
ing the  first  aeroplane  flights  in  New  York  City, 
in  the  machine  bought  by  the  Aeronautical  So- 
ciety. 

The  Society  intended  to  make  Morris  Park  the 
scene  of  aviation  meets  and  of  experiments  with 

57 


58       THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

gliders,  but  the  grounds  proved  too  small  and  I 
recommended  a  change  to  some  other  place  in  the 
vicinity  of  New  York  City,  where  there  was  plenty 
of  open  country  and  where  the  danger  from  un- 
expected landings  would  be  minimized.  I  looked 
over  all  the  suitable  places  around  New  York  City 
and  finally  decided  upon  Mineola,  on  Long  Is- 
land. The  Hempstead  Plains,  a  large,  level  tract 
lying  just  outside  Mineola,  offered  an  ideal  place 
for  flying  and  the  Aeronautical  Society  machine 
was  brought  down  there  from  Morris  Park. 

There  was  such  a  fine  field  for  flying  at  Mineola 
that  I  decided  to  make  another  try  for  the  Scien- 
tific American  trophy,  which  I  had  won  on  the 
previous  Fourth  of  July  at  Hammondsport  with 
the  "June  Bug."  I  wanted  that  trophy  very 
much,  but  in  order  to  become  possessed  of  it  I 
had  to  win  it  three  years  in  succession,  the  condi- 
tions being  changed  from  year  to  year  to  keep 
pace  with  the  progress  and  development  of  avia- 
tion. The  second  year's  conditions  required  a 
continuuous  flight  of  more  than  twenty-five  kilo- 
meters (about  sixteen  miles)  in  order  to  have  the 
flight  taken  into  account  in  awarding  the  prize, 
which  was  to  go  to  the  person  making  the  longest 
official  flight  during  the  year. 

I  believed  I  could  make  a  fine  showing  at  Hemp- 
stead  Plains  and  preparations  were  made  for  the 
attempt.  The  aeroplane  was  put  together  near 
Peter  MeLaughlin's  hotel  and  a  triangular  course 


FLIGHTS  IN  NEW  YOEK  59 

of  one  and  a  third  miles  was  measured  off.  After 
I  had  made  a  number  of  trial  flights  over  the 
course  I  sent  formal  notice  to  the  Aero  Club  of 
America  that  all  was  ready  for  the  official  flight, 
and  the  Club  sent  Mr.  Charles  M.  Manley  down  as 
official  representative  to  observe  the  trial  for  the 
Scientific  American  trophy. 

On  July  17th,  1909,  a  little  more  than  a  year 
from  the  first  official  flight  of  the  "  June  Bug"  at 
Hammondsport,  we  got  out  on  the  field  at  Mineola 
at  sunrise,  before  the  heavy  dew  was  off  the 
grass,  and  made  ready.  It  was  a  memorable  day 
for  the  residents  of  that  particular  section  of. 
Long  Island,  who  had  never  seen  a  flying  machine 
prior  to  my  brief  trial  flights  there  a  few  days 
before.  They  turned  out  in  large  numbers,  even 
at  that  early  hour,  and  there  was  a  big  delegation 
of  newspapermen  from  the  New  York  dailies  on 
hand.  Flying  was  such  a  novelty  at  that  time 
that  nine-tenths  of  the  people  who  came  to  watch 
the  preparations  were  sceptical  while  others  de- 
clared that  "that  thing  won't  fly,  so  what's  the 
use  of  waiting  'round."  There  was  much  excite- 
ment, therefore,  when,  at  a  quarter  after  five 
o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  July  17,  I  made  my 
first  flight.  This  was  for  the  Cortlandt  Field 
Bishop  prize  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
offered  by  the  Aero  Club  of  America  to  the  first 
four  persons  who  should  fly  one  kilometer.  It 
took  just  two  and  a  half  minutes  to  win  this  prize 


60       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

and  immediately  afterward  I  started  for  the 
Scientific  American  trophy. 

The  weather  was  perfect  and  everything 
worked  smoothly.  I  made  twelve  circuits  of  the 
course,  which  completed  the  twenty-five  kilo- 
meters, in  thirty-two  minutes.  The  motor  was 
working  so  nicely  and  the  weather  man  was  so 
favourable,  that  I  decided  to  keep  right  on  flying, 
until  finally  I  had  circled  the  course  nineteen 
times  and  covered  a  distance  of  twenty-four  and 
seven-tenths  miles  before  landing.  The  average 
speed  was  probably  about  thirty-five  miles  an 
hour,  although  no  official  record  of  the  speed  was 
made. 

Great  was  the  enthusiasm  of  the  crowd  when 
the  flight  ended.  I  confess  that  I,  too,  was  en- 
thusiastic over  the  way  the  motor  had  worked 
and  the  ease  with  which  the  machine  could  be 
handled  in  flight.  Best  of  all,  I  had  the  sense  of 
satisfaction  that  the  confidence  imposed  in  me  by 
my  friends  had  been  justified. 

As  the  machine  built  for  the  Aeronautical  So- 
ciety had  thus  met  every  requirement,  I  agreed  to 
teach  two  members  to  fly  at  Hempstead  Plains. 
Mr.  Charles  F.  Willard  and  Mr.  Williams  were 
the  two  chosen  to  take  up  instruction,  and  the 
work  began  at  once.  Mr.  Willard  proved  an  apt 
pupil  and  after  a  few  lessons  mastered  the  ma- 
chine and  flew  with  confidence  and  success,  cir- 
cling about  the  country  around  Mineola. 


FLIGHTS  IN  NEW  YOBK  61 

These  flights  at  Mineola  gave  that  place  a  start 
as  the  headquarters  for  aviators,  and  it  soon  be- 
came the  popular  resort  for  everyone  interested 
in  aviation  in  and  near  the  city  of  New  York. 


SCIENTIFIC   AMERICAN   TROPHY 


PAET  in 

MY  CHIEF  FLIGHTS  AND  THE  WOKK  OF 
TO-DAY 


BY 
H.   CURTISS 


CHAPTEE  I 

THE  RHEIMS  MEET— FIRST  INTERNATIONAL  AEROPLANE 
CONTEST 

PRIOR  to  the  first  flights  in  New  York  City  I 
had  formulated  plans  for  an  improved  ma- 
chine, designed  for  greater  speed  and  equipped 
with  a  more  powerful  motor.  I  wanted  to  take 
part  in  the  first  contest  for  the  Gordon  Bennett 
Aviation  cup  at  Rheims,  France,  August  22  to  29, 
1909.  This  was  the  first  International  Aviation 
Meet  held,  and  much  was  expected  of  the  French 
machines  of  the  monoplane  type.  Great  was  my 
gratification,  therefore,  when  I  received  word 
from  the  Aero  Club  of  America,  through  Mr. 
Cortlandt  Field  Bishop,  who  was  then  president, 
that  I  had  been  chosen  to  represent  America  at 
Rheims.1 

Without  allowing  my  plans  to  become  known  to 
the  public  I  began  at  once  to  build  an  eight-cyl- 

i  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Lieutenant  Frank  P.  Lahm,  the 
sole  American  entrant  for  the  Gordon  Bennett  Balloon  Cup  in 
1906;  Mr.  Edgar  Mix,  the  only  representative  of  America  in  the 
balloon  contest  in  1909,  and  Mr.  Charles  Weymann,  the  only 
entrant  from  America  in  the  Gordon  Bennett  Aviation  Cup  race 
of  1911,  held  in  England,  all  won. 

65 


66       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

inder,  V-shaped,  fifty  horse-power  motor.  This 
was  practically  double  the  horse-power  I  had  been 
using.  Work  on  the  motor  was  pushed  day  and 
night  at  Hammondsport,  as  I  had  not  an  hour  to 
spare.  I  had  kept  pretty  close  watch  on  every- 
thing that  had  been  printed  about  the  prepara- 
tions of  the  Frenchmen  for  the  Gordon  Bennett 
race  and  although  it  was  reported  that  Bleriot, 
in  his  own  monoplane,  and  Hubert  Latham,  in  an 
Antoinette  monoplane,  had  flown  as  fast  as  sixty 
miles  an  hour,  I  still  felt  confident.  The  speed 
of  aeroplanes  is  so  often  exaggerated  in  press 
accounts  that  I  did  not  believe  all  I  read  about 
Bleriot 's  and  Latham's  trial  flights. 

The  motor  was  finished,  but  there  was  no  time 
to  put  it  in  the  new  machine  and  try  it  out  before 
sailing.  It  was,  therefore,  given  a  short  run  on 
the  block,  or  testing-frame,  hurriedly  packed,  and 
the  entire  equipment  rushed  to  New  York  barely 
in  time  to  catch  the  steamer  for  France. 

The  time  was  so  short  between  the  arrival  of 
our  steamer  and  the  opening  of  the  meet  that  in 
order  to  get  to  Eheims  in  time  to  qualify,  we  had 
to  take  the  aeroplane  with  us  on  the  train  as  per- 
sonal baggage.  Thanks  to  the  kindness  of  the 
French  railway  officials,  who  realised  our  situa- 
tion, and  evidently  had  imbibed  some  of  the  pre- 
vailing aviation  enthusiasm,  we  arrived  at  Eheims 
in  quick  time.  In  those  early  days  of  aviation 
there  was  not  the  keen  partisanship  for  mono- 


THE  EHEIMS  MEET  67 

plane  or  biplane  that  one  finds  everywhere  to-day ; 
nor  was  there  the  strong  popular  feeling  in 
France  in  favor  of  the  monoplane  that  exists  to- 
day. An  aeroplane  was  simply  an  aeroplane  at 
that  time,  and  interesting  as  such,  but  naturally 
all  Frenchmen  favored  their  compatriots  who 
were  entered  in  the  race,  particularly  Bleriot,  who 
had  just  earned  world-wide  fame  by  his  flight 
across  the  English  channel.  The  Frenchmen,  as 
well  as  Europeans  in  general,  fully  expected 
Bleriot  to  win  with  his  fast  monoplane. 

My  own  personal  hopes  lay  in  my  motor. 
Judge  of  my  surprise,  therefore,  upon  arriving 
at  Eheims,  to  learn  that  Bleriot,  who  had  prob- 
ably heard  through  newspaper  reports  that  I  was 
bringing  over  an  eight-cylinder  motor,  had  him- 
self installed  an  eight-cylinder  motor  of  eighty 
horse-power  in  one  of  his  light  monoplanes. 
When  I  learned  this,  I  believed  my  chances  were 
very  slim  indeed,  if  in  fact  they  had  not  entirely 
disappeared.  The  monoplane  is  generally  be- 
lieved to  be  faster  than  the  biplane  with  equal 
power.  I  had  just  one  aeroplane  and  one  motor; 
if  I  smashed  either  of  these  it  would  be  all  over 
with  America's  chances  in  the  first  International 
Cup  Eace.  I  had  not  the  reserve  equipment  to 
bring  out  a  new  machine  as  fast  as  one  was 
smashed,  as  Bleriot  and  other  Frenchmen  had. 
Incidentally,  there  were  many  of  them  smashed 
during  the  big  meet  on  the  Plain  of  Bethany.  At 


68       THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

one  time,  while  flying,  I  saw  as  many  as  twelve 
machines  strewn  about  the  field,  some  wrecked 
and  some  disabled  and  being  hauled  slowly  back 
to  the  hangars,  by  hand  or  by  horses.  For  ob- 
vious reasons,  therefore,  I  kept  out  of  the  dura- 
tion contests  and  other  events,  flying  only  in  such 
events  as  were  for  speed,  and  of  a  distance  not  to 
exceed  twenty  kilometers,  which  was  the  course 
for  the  Gordon  Bennett  contest  in  1909. 

It  is  hard  enough  for  any  one  to  map  out  a  course 
of  action  and  stick  to  it,  particularly  in  the  face 
of  the  desires  of  one's  friends;  but  it  is  doubly 
hard  for  an  aviator  to  stay  on  the  ground  waiting 
for  just  the  right  time  to  get  into  the  air.  It  was 
particularly  hard  for  me  to  keep  out  of  many 
events  at  Eheims  held  from  day  to  day,  especially 
as  there  were  many  patriotic  Americans  there 
who  would  have  liked  to  see  America's  only  rep- 
resentative take  part  in  everything  on  the  pro- 
gramme. I  was  urged  by  many  of  these  to  go  out 
and  contest  the  Frenchmen  for  the  rich  prizes 
offered  and  it  was  hard  to  refuse  to  do  this. 
These  good  friends  did  not  realise  the  situation. 
America's  chances  could  not  be  imperilled  for  the 
sake  of  gratifying  one's  curiosity,  or  national 
pride.  On  top  of  the  urgings  of  my  American 
friends  to  go  out  and  fly  and  take  chances  of  hav- 
ing a  whole  machine  when  the  day  for  the  Gordon 
Bennett  should  arrive,  I  was  penalised  for  not 
starting  in  the  speed  race,  the  Prix  de  la  Vitesse, 


THE  EHEIMS  MEET  69 

the  penalty  being  one-twentieth  of  the  time  made 
when  I  should  start  in  this  event.  However,  I 
made  a  number  of  trial  flights  and  ten  official 
ones,  during  the  meet,  without  mishap,  except  a 
sprained  ankle.  This  was  the  result  of  running 
through  growing  grain  at  the  time  of  landing  and 
being  thrown  out  of  the  machine.  I  was  also 
fortunate  in  being  the  only  aviator  who  took  part 
in  this  first  big  meet  to  land  at  the  hangar  after 
each  flight. 

During  this  period  of  waiting,  and  making  ex- 
planations to  enthusiastic  Americans  who  could 
not  understand  why  I  did  not  fly  all  the  time,  my 
mechanician,  "Tod"  Shriver,1  attracted  a  tre- 
mendous amount  of  attention  from  the  throngs 
that  visited  the  hangars  because  he  worked  in  his 
shirt  sleeves.  They  thought  "Tod"  picturesque 
because  he  did  not  wear  the  French  workman's 

i  Tod  Shriver,  or  "Slim"  as  he  was  known  to  all  American  avi- 
ators because  he  was  very  tall  and  slender,  went  to  Rheims  as 
a  mechanic  before  taking  up  flying  himself.  He  was  successful 
as  an  aviator  and  accompanied  Captain  Thomas  Baldwin  to  the 
Orient  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1911.  This  trip  created 
great  excitement  among  the  Chinese,  who  had  never  seen  the 
"foreign  devils"  fly  before.  Captain  Baldwin  tells  a  story  of  the 
crowd  that  witnessed  the  flights  in  Tokyo,  Japan,  which  he  de- 
scribes as  numbering  seven  hundred  thousand  persons!  In  proof 
of  this  he  states  that  advices  received  from  Japan  in  the  spring  of 
1912  report  that  the  crowd  had  not  entirely  dispersed  even  at  that 
time!  "Tod"  Shriver  flew  in  many  places  in  the  United  States 
and  in  the  winter  of  1911  met  his  death  in  Porto  Rico.  He  fell 
while  flying  at  Ponce.  His  death  was  a  shock  to  his  many  friends. 
— {Note  by  AUGUSTUS  POST.] 


70       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

blouse.  Shriver  used  to  say  that  if  he  were  pic- 
turesque in  shirt  sleeves  there  were  about  fifty 
million  perfectly  good  Americans  across  the  At- 
lantic who  formed  probably  the  most  picturesque 
crowd  on  earth. 

In  the  try-outs  it  became  evident  to  the  French- 
men that  my  aeroplane  was  very  fast  and  it  was 
conceded  that  the  race  for  the  Gordon  Bennett 
Cup  would  lie  between  Bleriot  and  myself,  barring 
accidents.  After  a  carefully  timed  trial  circuit  of 
the  course,  which,  much  to  my  surprise,  I  made  in 
a  few  seconds  less  than  M.  Bleriot 's  time,  and 
that,  too,  with  my  motor  throttled  down  slightly, 
I  gained  more  confidence.  I  removed  the  large 
gasoline  tank  from  my  machine  and  put  on  a 
smaller  one  in  order  to  lessen  the  weight  and  the 
head-resistance.  I  then  selected  the  best  of  my 
three  propellers,  which,  by  the  way,  were  objects 
of  curiosity  to  the  French  aviators,  who  were 
familiar  only  with  the  metal  blades  used  on  the 
Antoinette  machine,  and  the  Chauviere,  which  was 
being  used  by  M.  Bleriot.  M.  Chauviere  was  kind 
enough  to  make  a  propeller  especially  fitted  to  my 
aeroplane,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a  better 
propeller  on  my  machine  would  lessen  the  chances 
of  the  French  flyers  for  the  cup.  However,  I 
decided  later  to  use  my  own  propeller,  and  did 
use  it — and  won. 

August  29  dawned  clear  and  hot.    It  was  agreed 


THE  EHEIMS  MEET  71 

at  a  meeting  of  the  Committee,  at  which  all  the 
contestants  were  present,  that  each  contestant 
should  be  allowed  to  make  one  trial  flight  over  the 
course  and  that  he  might  choose  his  own  time  for 
making  it,  between  the  hours  of  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning  and  six  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The 
other  starters  were  Bleriot,  Lefebre,  and  Latham 
for  France,  and  Cockburn  for  England.  As  I 
have  already  stated,  Bleriot  was  the  favourite  be- 
cause of  his  trip  across  the  English  channel  and 
because  of  his  records  made  in  flights  at  various 
places  prior  to  the  Kheims  meet. 

As  conditions  were  apparently  good,  I  decided 
to  make  my  trial  flight  shortly  after  ten  o'clock. 
The  machine  was  brought  out,  the  engine  given  a 
preliminary  run,  and  at  half  past  ten  I  was  in 
the  air.  Everything  had  looked  good  from  the 
ground,  but  after  the  first  turn  of  the  course  I 
began  to  pitch  violently.  This  was  caused  by  the 
heat  waves  rising  and  falling  as  the  cooler  air 
rushed  in.  The  up  and  down  motion  was  not  at 
all  pleasant  and  I  confess  that  I  eased  off  on  the 
throttle  several  times  on  the  first  circuit.  I  had 
not  then  become  accustomed  to  the  feeling  an 
aviator  gets  when  the  machine  takes  a  sudden 
drop.  On  the  second  round  I  got  my  nerve  back 
and  pulled  the  throttle  wide  open  and  kept  it 
open.  This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  the  second 
lap  was  made  in  faster  time  than  the  first.  The 


72       THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

two  circuits  were  made  safely  and  I  crossed  the 
finish  line  in  seven  minutes,  fifty-five  seconds,  a 
new  record  for  the  course. 

Now  was  my  chance!  I  felt  that  the  time  to 
make  the  start  for  the  Cup  was  then,  in  spite  of 
the  boiling  air  conditions,  which  I  had  found  ex- 
isted all  over  the  course  and  made  flying  difficult 
if  not  actually  dangerous.  We  hurriedly  refilled 
the  gasoline  tank,  sent  official  notice  to  the  judges, 
carefully  tested  the  wiring  of  the  machine  by  lift- 
ing it  at  the  corners,  spun  the  propeller,  and  the 
official  trial  was  on.  I  climbed  as  high  as  I 
thought  I  might  without  protest,  before  crossing 
the  starting  line — probably  five  hundred  feet — 
so  that  I  might  take  advantage  of  a  gradual  de- 
scent throughout  the  race,  and  thus  gain  addi- 
tional speed.  The  sun  was  hot  and  the  air  rough, 
but  I  had  resolved  to  keep  the  throttle  wide  open. 
I  cut  the  corner  as  close  as  I  dared  and  banked 
the  machine  high  on  the  turns.  I  remember  I 
caused  great  commotion  among  a  big  flock  of 
birds  which  did  not  seem  to  be  able  to  get  out  of 
the  wash  of  my  propeller.  In  front  of  the  trib- 
unes the  machine  flew  steadily,  but  when  I  got 
around  on  the  back  stretch,  as  we  would  call  it,  I 
found  remarkable  air  conditions.  There  was  no 
wind,  but  the  air  seemed  fairly  to  boil.  The  ma- 
chine pitched  considerably,  and  when  I  passed 
above  the  " graveyard,"  where  so  many  machines 
had  gone  down  and  were  smashed  during  the 


THE  EHEIMS  MEET  73 

previous  days  of  the  meet,  the  air  seemed  literally 
to  drop  from  under  me.  It  was  so  bad  at  one 
spot  that  I  made  up  my  mind  that  if  I  got  over  it 
safely  I  would  avoid  that  particular  spot  there- 
after. 

Finally,  however,  I  finished  the  twenty  kilo- 
meters in  safety  and  crossed  the  line  in  fifteen 
minutes,  fifty  seconds,  having  averaged  forty-six 
and  one-half  miles  an  hour.  When  the  time  was 
announced  there  was  great  enthusiasm  among  the 
Americans  present,  and  every  one  rushed  over  to 
offer  congratulations.  Some  of  them  thought 
that  I  would  surely  be  the  winner,  but  of  this  I 
was  by  no  means  certain.  I  had  great  respect  for 
Bleriot's  ability,  and  besides,  Latham  and  his 
Antoinette  might  be  able  to  make  better  speed 
than  they  had  thus  far  shown.  In  a  contest  of 
this  sort  it  is  never  safe  to  cheer  until  all  the 
returns  are  in.  I  confess  that  I  felt  a  good  deal 
like  a  prisoner  awaiting  the  decision  of  a  jury. 
I  had  done  my  best,  and  had  got  the  limit  of 
speed  out  of  the  machine;  still  I  felt  that  if  I 
could  do  it  all  over  again  I  would  be  able  to  im- 
prove on  the  time.  Meantime  Cockburn,  for  Eng- 
land, had  made  a  start  but  had  come  down  and 
run  into  a  haystack.  He  was  only  able  to  finish 
the  course  in  twenty  minutes,  forty-seven  and 
three-fifth  seconds.  This  put  him  out  of  the  con- 
test. 

Latham  made  his  trial  during  the  afternoon 


74       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

but  his  speed  was  five  or  six  miles  an  hour  slower 
than  my  record.  The  other  contestants  were  fly- 
ing about  thirty-five  miles  an  hour,  and  were, 
therefore,  not  really  serious  factors  in  the  race. 

It  was  all  up  to  M.  Bleriot.  All  day  long  he 
tinkered  and  tested,  first  with  one  machine  and 
then  another ;  trying  different  propellers  and  mak- 
ing changes  here  and  there.  It  was  not  until  late 
in  the  afternoon  that  he  brought  out  his  big  ma- 
chine, Number  22,  equipped  with  an  eight-cyl- 
inder water-cooled  motor,  mounted  beneath  the 
planes,  and  driving  by  chain  a  four-bladed  pro- 
peller, geared  to  run  at  a  speed  somewhat  less 
than  that  of  the  engine.  He  started  off  at  what 
seemed  to  be  a  terrific  burst  of  speed.  It  looked 
to  me  just  then  as  if  he  must  be  going  twice  as 
fast  as  my  machine  had  flown ;  but  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  I  was  very  anxious  to  have  him 
go  slow.  The  fear  that  he  was  beating  me  was 
father  to  the  belief. 

As  soon  as  Bleriot  was  off  Mr.  Cortlandt  Field 
Bishop  and  Mr.  David  Wolfe  Bishop,  his  brother, 
took  me  in  their  automobile  over  to  the  judges' 
stand.  Bleriot  made  the  first  lap  in  faster  time 
than  I  had  made  it,  and  our  hearts  sank.  Then 
and  there  I  resolved  that  if  we  lost  the  cup  I 
would  build  a  faster  aeroplane  and  come  back 
next  year  to  win  it. 

Again  Bleriot  dashed  past  the  stand  and  it 
seemed  to  me  that  he  was  going  even  faster  than 


WINNING  THE  GORDON  BENNET  CONTEST  IN  FRANCE 

(A)    Curtiss   flying  at   Rheims,      (B)   The   welcome   home    to    Hamtnondsport 


Copyright,  1910,  by  Photo  News  Co. 

"A   POSITION   HIGHER  THAN  THE  PRESIDENT'S" 
President  Taft  watching  Curtiss  fly,  Harvard  Meet,  1910 


THE  EHEIMS  MEET  75 

the  first  time.  Great  was  my  surprise,  therefore, 
when,  as  he  landed,  there  was  no  outburst  of 
cheers  from  the  great  crowd.  I  had  expected  a 
scene  of  wild  enthusiasm,  but  there  was  nothing 
of  the  sort.  I  sat  in  Mr.  Bishop's  automobile  a 
short  distance  from  the  judges'  stand,  wondering 
why  there  was  no  shouting,  when  I  was  startled 
by  a  shout  of  joy  from  my  friend,  Mr.  Bishop, 
who  had  gone  over  to  the  judges'  stand. 

"You  win!  You  win!"  he  cried,  all  excitement 
as  he  ran  toward  the  automobile.  "Bleriot  is 
beaten  by  six  seconds !" 

A  few  moments  later,  just  at  half  past  five 
o  'clock,  the  Stars  and  Stripes  were  slowly  hoisted 
to  the  top  of  the  flagpole  and  we  stood  uncovered 
while  the  flag  went  up.  There  was  scarcely  a 
response  from  the  crowded  grand  stands ;  no  true 
Frenchman  had  the  heart  to  cheer.  A  good, 
hearty  cheer  requires  more  than  mere  politeness. 
But  every  American  there  made  enough  noise  for 
ten  ordinary  people,  so  that  numbers  really  count- 
ed for  very  little  in  the  deep  feeling  of  satisfaction 
at  the  result  of  the  first  great  contest  in  the  his- 
tory of  aviation.  Mr.  Andrew  D.  White,  accom- 
panied by  Mrs.  Eoosevelt  and  Miss  Ethel  Roose- 
velt, came  over  to  our  car  and  congratulated  me. 
Quentin  Eoosevelt,  who  had  been  in  a  state  of 
excitement  throughout  the  day,  declared  it 
"bully,"  while  his  brother  Archie  wanted  to  be 
shown  all  about  the  working  of  the  machine.  M. 


76       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Bleriot  himself,  good  sportsman  that  he  is,  was 
among  the  first  to  extend  congratulations  to  Amer- 
ica and  to  me  personally. 

There  was  a  reason  beyond  the  mere  patriotism 
why  the  Americans  felt  so  happy  over  the  result; 
it  meant  that  the  next  international  race  would 
be  held  in  the  United  States,  and  that  the  best 
foreign  machines  would  have  to  come  across  the 
ocean  to  make  a  try  for  the  cup  the  following 
year. 

In  commenting  upon  the  result  the  Paris  Edi- 
tion of  the  New  York  Herald  said  that  the  race 
had  rehabilitated  the  biplane ;  that  while  the  light- 
ness and  bird-like  lines  of  the  monoplane  had 
appealed  to  the  crowd  as  the  ideal  representation 
of  artificial  flight,  "the  American  aviator  proved 
that  the  biplane  not  only  possessed  qualities  of 
carrying  weight  and  undoubtedly  of  superior  sta- 
bility, but  that,  if  need  be,  it  can  develop  speed 
equal  to,  if  not  superior  to,  its  smaller  rival." 

Offers  of  engagements  to  fly  in  Germany  and 
Italy  came  pouring  in.  To  accept  these  meant  a 
good  deal  of  money  in  prizes,  for  it  had  been 
proven  that  I  had  the  fastest  aeroplane  in  the 
world.  I  accepted  some  of  them,  as  I  had  learned 
that  the  conditions  for  flying  at  the  big  meets  in 
Europe  were  almost  ideal  and  that  there  was 
a  tremendous  amount  of  interest  everywhere, 
among  all  classes.  A  big  meet  was  organized  at 
Brescia,  Italy,  and  I  went  there  from  Eheims. 


THE  EHEIMS  MEET  77 

Here  I  carried  my  first  passenger,  the  celebrated 
Italian  poet  and  author,  Gabriele  D'Annunzio. 
He  was  wildly  enthusiastic  over  his  experience, 
and  upon  being  brought  back  to  earth  said  with 
all  the  emotion  of  his  people :  "  Until  now  I  have 
never  really  lived!  Life  on  earth  is  a  creeping, 
crawling  business.  It  is  in  the  air  that  one  feels 
the  glory  of  being  a  man  and  of  conquering  the 
elements.  There  is  the  exquisite  smoothness  of 
motion  and  the  joy  of  gliding  through  space —  It 
is  wonderful!  Can  I  not  express  it  in  poetry?  I 
might  try." 

And  he  did  express  it  in  poetry,  a  beautiful 
work  published  sometime  later. 

After  winning  the  Grand  Prize  at  Brescia  and 
taking  a  wonderful  motor  trip  over  the  Alps  with 
Mr.  Bishop,  I  hurried  home  to  America  to  look 
after  my  business  affairs,  about  which  I  had  not 
had  time  even  to  think  during  the  Eheims  and 
Brescia  meets. 


NOTE   BY   AUGUSTUS   POST 

Delegations  of  enthusiastic  friends  met  Mr. 
Curtiss  in  New  York,  among  them  members  of 
the  Aero  Club  of  America  and  other  representa- 
tive organisations.  There  followed  a  series  of 
luncheons  and  dinners  which  seemed  without  end. 
Among  all  these  the  luncheon  given  by  the  Aero 
Club  of  America  at  the  Lawyers'  Club  was  nota- 


78      THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

ble  because  every  one  present  showed  such  a  warm 
interest  in  the  success  of  American  aeronautics, 
and  such  a  firm  determination  not  only  to  keep 
the  trophy  in  this  country,  but  to  defend  it  the 
next  year  in  an  aviation  meet  that  should  be  even 
greater  than  that  with  which  Eheims  had  led  the 
way. 

But  the  real  celebration  took  place  in  the  little 
village  of  Hammondsport,  the  place  where  Mr. 
Curtiss  was  born  and  reared,  and  where  he  knew 
every  man,  woman,  and  child.  The  men  in  the 
factory  and  all  his  other  warm  friends  got  to- 
gether and  decided  that  there  must  be  something- 
out  of  the  ordinary  when  he  got  back  to  town. 
They  planned  a  procession  all  the  way  from  Bath 
to  Hammondsport,  a  distance  of  ten  miles,  with 
fireworks  along  the  route.  But  a  heavy  rain 
came  on  just  in  time  to  spoil  the  fireworks  plan, 
so  they  engaged  a  special  train  and  this  passed 
through  a  glow  of  red  fire  all  the  way  home  from 
Bath.  At  the  Hammondsport  station  there  was 
a  carriage  to  draw  him  up  the  hill  to  his  home, 
and  fifty  men  furnished  the  motive  power.  There 
were  arches  with  "  Welcome "  in  electric  lights, 
banners,  fireworks,  and  speeches.  Through  the 
pouring  rain  there  was  a  continuous  procession 
of  his  friends  and  acquaintances — townspeople 
who  had  always  given  him  their  loyal  support  and 
the  men  from  the  shop  who  had  made  his  success 
possible. 


THE  EHEIMS  MEET  79 

It  was  after  eleven  o'clock  when  the  crowd  dis- 
persed— an  almost  unholy  hour  for  Hammonds- 
port. — AUGUSTUS  POST. 


CHAPTER  II 

HUDSON-FULTON"    CELEBRATION— FIRST    AMERICAN    IN- 
TERNATIONAL MEET,  AT  LOS  ANGELES 

I  WAS  not  permitted  to  remain  long  in  Ham- 
mondsport,  although  there  was  much  work 
for  me  to  do  there  in  the  way  of  planning  im- 
provements in  the  factory,  as  well  as  on  my  aero- 
plane, which  had  now  come  to  be  known  through- 
out the  world  by  reason  of  winning  the  Gordon 
Bennett  Cup.  There  were  tempting  offers  from 
all  quarters  to  give  exhibitions  with  the  flying 
machine,  which  up  to  that  time  had  been  seen 
in  but  few  places  in  this  country.  Some  of  these 
offers  were  accepted  because  I  could  not  afford 
to  reject  them.  Moreover,  it  required  a  great 
deal  of  money  to  run  the  shop,  and  there  was  no 
commercial  demand  for  aeroplanes.  They  were, 
as  yet,  valuable  only  as  "show  machines,"  to  see 
which  the  public  was  willing  to  pay  goodly  sums. 
For  a  long  time  preparations  had  been  going 
on  at  New  York  City  to  celebrate  the  tri-cente- 
nary  of  the  discovery  of  the  Hudson  river,  and  the 
centenary  of  the  first  steamboat  trip  on  that 
stream  by  Fulton  in  the  Clermont.  It  had  been 

80 


HUDSON-FULTON  CELEBEATION      81 

the  idea  of  the  originators  of  the  Hudson-Fulton 
celebration — an  idea  that  was  expressed  in  the 
tentative  plans  published  long  before  the  celebra- 
tion itself — that  the  new  conquest  of  the  air 
should  be  recognised,  in  some  way,  at  the  same 
time.  At  first  it  was  intended  that  some  sort  of 
airship  should  accompany  the  naval  parade  the 
entire  length  of  the  Hudson,  with  a  replica  of 
Hendrik  Hudson's  Half  Moon  leading  the  way, 
Kobert  Fulton's  old  steamboat  Clermont  follow- 
ing, and  the  airship  hovering  above  them — thus 
furnishing  a  striking  illustration  of  the  wonder- 
ful advancement  in  the  means  of  locomotion  in  a 
hundred  years,  and  signalising  the  new  science 
of  air  navigation.  With  this  end  in  view  the 
Celebration  Committee  engaged  the  Wright 
Brothers  and  myself  to  bring  aeroplanes  to  New 
York,  furnishing  us  with  every  facility  on  Gov- 
ernor's Island,  in  the  Lower  Bay,  from  which 
point  all  flights  were  to  be  made. 

But  aerial  navigation  in  the  fall  of  1909  was 
not  such  a  sure  and  certain  thing  as  all  that. 
Much  depended  upon  the  wind  and  weather,  and 
it  was  soon  demonstrated  that  the  best  that  could 
be  hoped  for  at  the  time  of  the  celebration  would 
be  flights  made  at  such  times  as  the  wind  would 
permit.  Day  after  day  the  public  waited  anx- 
iously for  flights  to  be  made  up  the  Hudson  from 
Governor's  Island,  but  day  after  day  the  wind 
blew  up  or  down  the  Hudson  in  such  blasts  that 


82       THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

it  was  not  deemed  safe  to  attempt  a  trip.  For  it 
must  be  remembered  that  there  is  scarcely  a  more 
difficult  course  anywhere  in  the  country  than  over 
the  Hudson  river  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York. 
On  both  sides  of  the  river,  which  is  a  swift-run- 
ning stream,  rise  lofty  hills,  and  at  some  places 
precipitous  cliffs  called  the  Palisades.  On  the 
New  York  side  are  miles  upon  miles  of  lofty  apart- 
ment houses  along  Biverside  Drive.  If  the  wind 
blows  across  the  river,  either  from  the  east  or 
west,  dangerous  currents  and  eddies  suck  down 
through  the  canon-like  streets,  or  over  the  steep 
Palisades,  making  flying  extremely  hazardous. 
For  this  reason  there  has  never,  even  up  to  this 
time  (August,  1912),  been  any  flying  to  speak  of 
over  the  Hudson,  and  for  these  reasons,  the  great 
river  will  not  become  a  popular  flying  course  for 
aeroplanes  until  they  are  so  constructed  as  to  be 
able  to  defy  the  treacherous,  puffy  wind  currents. 
The  hydroaeroplane,  however,  may  navigate  the 
course  with  safety,  as  it  is  perfectly  safe  in  one 
of  these  machines  to  fly  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
water  where  there  is  the  least  danger  from  con- 
trary air  currents. 

So  much  was  printed  in  the  New  York  news- 
papers while  we  were  waiting  for  propitious 
weather  that  the  public  was  keyed  up  to  expect 
great  things  from  the  aeroplanes — far  greater 
than  the  aeroplane  could  accomplish.  Bulletins 
were  posted  by  the  newspapers  from  day  to  day, 


HUDSON-FULTON  CELEBEATION      83 

informing  the  public  that  flights  would  surely  be 
made  " to-day" — provided  the  wind  abated.  In 
the  meantime  interest  was  doubly  stimulated  by 
the  announcement  of  a  ten-thousand-dollar  prize 
for  the  first  air-flight  over  Fulton's  course,  from 
New  York  to  Albany,  or  from  Albany  to  New 
York.  One  of  the  paintings  made  at  the  time  as 
an  " advance  notice,"  I  remember,  showed  so 
many  aerial  dreadnaughts  in  the  sky,  passing 
down  the  river  by  the  Palisades  at  the  same  time, 
that  one  was  forced  to  wonder  how  all  of  them 
were  going  to  find  room  to  navigate.  However, 
the  atmosphere  had  cleared  long  before  the  actual 
flight  was  made  down  the  Hudson,  the  following 
summer. 

In  spite  of  the  disappointment  felt  by  the  pub- 
lic at  not  seeing  a  fleet  of  aeroplanes  sporting 
over  the  Hudson  daily  during  the  Hudson-Fulton 
celebration,  there  were  many  other  things  to  di- 
vert the  attention  of  New  York's  five  millions  and 
some  few  hundred  thousands  of  visitors  from  this 
and  other  countries.  The  week  of  pomp  and 
pageantry  culminated  in  the  most  wonderful  ma- 
rine and  land  parades  ever  staged  in  this  country, 
and  seldom,  if  ever,  excelled  in  the  Old  World. 
The  marine  parade  extended  all  the  way  up  to 
Albany,  and  at  every  stopping  place  there  was 
a  repetition,  on  a  smaller  scale,  of  the  scenes  of 
enthusiasm  and  general  holiday  spirit  that  had 
prevailed  in  the  Metropolis.  New  York  City  was 


84       THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

decorated  as  no  one  had  ever  seen  it  decorated 
before,  and  the  great  fleet  of  over  a  hundred  war- 
ships that  swung  at  anchor  in  the  Hudson  were 
visited  by  thousands  by  day  and  were  outlined 
in  myriads  of  electric  lights  at  night,  disguising 
their  ominous  guns  in  soft  shadow  and  giving 
them  a  peaceful  and  almost  fairy-like  appearance. 
Then  there  were  the  dirigible  balloons  to  com- 
mand the  attention  of  the  crowds  that  thronged 
Riverside  Drive  waiting  for  the  aeroplanes. 
They,  too,  were  after  the  rich  prize  offered  by 
the  New  York  World.  They  furnished  the  only 
real  contest  during  the  Hudson-Fulton  celebra- 
tion. There  were  two  of  them,  one  entered  by 
the  intrepid  Captain  Thomas  Baldwin,  and  the 
other  by  a  Mr.  Tomlinson.  These  were  housed 
in  great  tents  raised  within  an  enclosure  at  River- 
side Drive  and  One  Hundred  and  Nineteenth 
street,  behind  a  high  fence,  on  which  was  painted 
"Hudson-Fulton  Flights. "  This  was  the  center 
of  interest  for  great  crowds  for  days  during  the 
period  of  waiting.  Captain  Baldwin,  always 
popular  with  the  people  wherever  he  goes,  was 
the  centre  of  interest  with  the  crowds  that  stood 
around  the  sheds,  watching  the  mild,  blunt  noses 
of  the  big  dirigibles  as  they  bobbed  and  swayed 
with  the  gusts  that  swept  around  Grant's  Tomb, 
reminding  one  of  the  ceaseless  weaving  of  a  rest- 
less elephant.  But  the  elements  seemed  to  be  as 
much  against  the  dirigibles  as  against  the  aero- 


HUDSON-FULTON  CELEBRATION      85 

planes.  Tomlinson  made  a  start,  after  a  long 
wait,  but  came  to  grief  almost  at  once,  while  Cap- 
tain Baldwin  fared  but  little  better.  His  trip  ex- 
tended but  a  few  miles  up  the  river,  when  he  was 
forced  to  come  down,  thus  ending  the  chances  of 
the  dirigibles. 

The  aeroplanes  were  scarcely  more  fortunate. 
October  winds  around  New  York  are  most  unruly 
things,  and  at  that  particular  period  seemed 
worse  than  usual.  "Weather-wise  folk  learned 
after  awhile  to  look  out  at  the  flags  on  the  high 
buildings;  if  they  stood  out  straight  from  the 
staff,  the  people  went  about  their  business,  know- 
ing there  would  be  no  flying  that  day.  But  every 
one  kept  an  ear  cocked  for  the  firing  of  a  big 
cannon  on  Governor's  Island,  the  signal  that  a 
flight  was  about  to  be  made.  Even  these  were 
deceiving,  for  there  were  so  many  salutes  being 
fired  by  the  great  fleets  in  the  river  and  bay,  that 
no  one  could  tell  when  to  give  heed  to  gun  sig- 
nals. So  the  crowds  sat  along  Eiverside  Drive, 
or  depended  upon  the  unhappy  and  over-worked 
policemen  for  word  of  the  aeroplanes.  Some  peo- 
ple were  disposed  to  hold  the  policemen  person- 
ally responsible  for  the  failure  of  the  airships  to 
fly.  " You'd  think, "  said  one  of  the  blue-coated 
guardians  on  Eiverside  Drive,  "that  I  was 
keepin'  'em  back,  the  way  these  people  go  at  me. 
They  blame  me  and  not  the  wind!" 

The  wind  held  out  and  the  week  of  festivities 


86       THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

ended ;  still  there  had  been  no  flying.  I  could  not 
remain  in  New  York  any  longer,  as  I  had  ac- 
cepted an  engagement  some  time  before  to  fly  at 
St.  Louis.  I  was  obliged  therefore,  much  to  my 
chagrin,  and  the  disappointment  of  the  crowds, 
to  leave  the  city  without  making  a  flight  up  the 
river,  although  I  did  make  a  short  flight  over 
Governor's  Island. 

Mr.  Wilbur  Wright,  however,  remained  in  New 
York,  and  during  the  following  week  made  a  mag- 
nificent flight  up  the  river  from  Governor's 
Island  to  Grant's  Tomb  and  return,  a  distance 
of  about  twenty  miles.  This  gave  the  larger  part 
of  New  York's  millions  their  first  glimpse  of  an 
aeroplane  in  flight. 

At  St.  Louis  we  gave  a  very  successful  meet. 
There  were  flights  by  Captain  Baldwin,  Lincoln 
Beachey,  and  Eoy  Knabenshue,  in  their  dirigible 
balloons,  and  myself  in  my  aeroplane.  The 
weather  conditions  were  favourable,  and  St.  Louis 
turned  out  enthusiastic  throngs  to  witness  the 
exhibitions. 

The  Pacific  Coast,  always  progressive  and  quick 
to  seize  upon  every  innovation,  no  matter  where 
it  may  be  developed,  had  been  clamoring  for  some 
time  for  an  aviation  meet.  The  enterprising 
citizens  of  Los  Angeles  got  together  and  put  up 
a  large  sum  of  money  to  bring  out  from  Europe 
and  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States,  a  num- 
ber of  representative  aviators  for  an  interna- 


THE  LOS  ANGELES  MEET  87 

tional  meet,  the  first  ever  given  in  this  country. 
Louis  Panlhan,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  French 
aviators,  was  brought  over  with  a  biplane  and  a 
monoplane,  and  there  were  a  number  of  Ameri- 
can entries,  including  Charles  F.  "Willard  and  my- 
self. Los  Angeles  furnished  the  first  opportunity 
for  a  real  contest  in  this  country  between  the 
French  and  American  machines,  and  these  con- 
tests aroused  immense  interest  throughout  the 
country. 

The  importance  of  the  Los  Angeles  meet  to  the 
aviation  industry  in  this  country  was  very  great. 
The  favourable  climatic  conditions  gave  opportuni- 
ties for  every  one  to  fly  in  all  the  events,  and  the 
wide  publicity  given  to  the  achievements  of  Paul- 
han  and  others,  especially  to  the  new  world 's  al- 
titude record  established  by  the  French  avia- 
tor, stimulated  interest  throughout  the  country. 
There  was  cross-country  flying  such  as  had  not 
been  seen  in  this  country,  brilliant  exhibitions  of 
altitude  flying,  and  speed  contests  of  the  hair- 
raising  variety.  Sometimes  it  takes  just  such  a 
public  demonstration  as  the  Los  Angeles  meet 
not  only  to  spread  the  news  of  the  general  prog- 
ress of  mechanical  flight,  but  to  show  the  builders 
of  aeroplanes  themselves  just  what  their  machines 
are  capable  of. 

It  was  at  the  Los  Angeles  meet,  by  the  way, 
that  Charles  F.  Willard  coined  that  apt  and  pic- 
turesque phrase  which  soon  was  used  the  world 


88       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

over  in  describing  air  conditions.  Willard  had 
made  a  short  flight  and  on  coming  down  declared 
the  air  "was  as  full  of  holes  as  a  Swiss  cheese." 
This  made  a  great  hit  with  the  newspapermen, 
who  featured  it,  using  it  day  after  day  in  their 
stories  until  it  went  the  rounds  of  the  press  of 
the  world.  There  were  special  articles  written 
on  "holes  in  the  air,"  and  interviews  of  promi- 
nent aviators  to  determine  how  it  feels  to  fall 
into  "a  hole  in  the  air." 

The  expression  was  more  picturesque  than  ac- 
curate, for  it  is  not  necessary  to  explain,  in  this 
advanced  stage  of  aviation,  that  there  are  no 
"holes"  in  the  atmosphere.  If  there  were  a  hole 
in  the  atmosphere,  a  clap  of  thunder  would  result, 
caused  by  the  rushing  in  of  the  surrounding  air 
to  fill  the  vacuum.  The  only  holes  in  the  air  are 
the  streaks  that  follow  a  rifle  bullet  or  a  flash  of 
lightning.  The  real  cause  of  the  conditions  de- 
scribed by  Willard,  and  which  has  since  probably 
been  responsible  for  the  death  of  several  well 
known  aviators,  is  a  swift,  downward  current  of 
air,  rushing  in  to  fill  a  vacuum  that  follows  a 
rising  current  from  a  heated  area.  The  hot  air 
rises  and  the  cool  air  rushes  down  to  take  its 
place.  An  aeroplane  striking  one  of  these  de- 
scending currents  drops  as  if  the  entire  atmos- 
pheric support  had  been  suddenly  removed,  and 
if  it  be  not  high  enough,  may  strike  the  ground 
with  fatal  results  to  the  aviator.  Every  experi- 


THE  LOS  ANGELES  MEET  89 

enced  airman  has  met  these  conditions.  They 
are  especially  noticeable  over  water,  streaks  of 
calm  water  showing  where  the  up-currents  are 
just  starting,  and  waves  or  ripples  where  the 
down-currents  strike  the  surface. 

The  representative  of  the  Aero  Club  of  America 
at  the  Los  Angeles  meet  was  Mr.  Cortlandt  Field 
Bishop,  of  New  York,  who  had  been  at  Rheims  the 
previous  summer  when  I  won  the  Gordon  Bennett 
Cup  and  who  had  been  of  inestimable  assistance  to 
me  at  that  time.  Mr.  Bishop  had  his  oft-expressed 
wish  to  fly  gratified  at  Los  Angeles.  He  was 
taken  up  by  Louis  Paulhan  several  times,  and 
Paulhan  also  took  Mrs.  Bishop  for  her  first  aerial 
ride.  Great  crowds  came  out  at  the  Los  Angeles 
meet,  and  they  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
aviation  in  this  country  expected  the  aviator  to 
fly  and  not  to  fall.  Paulhan  did  some  wonderful 
cross-country  flying,  and  as  a  climax  to  the  week 
of  aerial  wonders,  he  established  a  world's  alti- 
tude record  by  ascending  4,165  feet.  This  was 
regarded  as  marvellous  at  that  time.  Since  then 
the  mark  has  been  successively  raised  by  Brook- 
ins,  Hoxsey,  Le  Blanc,  Beachey,  Garros  and 
others.  Legagneux  now  (September,  1912)  holds 
the  record  at  18,760  feet. 

Interest  in  aviation  was  keen  following  the  Los 
Angeles  meet  and  I  decided  to  try  for  the  New 
York  World's  ten-thousand-dollar  prize,  which 
was  still  open,  for  a  flight  down  the  Hudson  from 


90       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Albany  to  New  York  City.  Notwithstanding  all 
the  natural  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  undertaking,  the  conditions  were 
so  fair  as  to  stops,  time-limit,  etc.,  and  it  was  so 
obviously  a  prize  offered  to  be  won,  that  I  con- 
sidered it  worth  a  serious  effort. 

I  fully  realised  that  the  flight  was  much  greater 
than  anything  I  had  yet  attempted,  and  even  more 
difficult  than  Bleriot's  great  flight  across  the 
English  channel  from  France  to  England,  news 
of  which  was  still  ringing  throughout  the 
world,  and  even  greater  than  the  projected  flight 
from  London  to  Manchester,  England,  and  for 
which  a  prize  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  had  been 
offered.  Although  the  course  covered  about  the 
same  distance  as  the  London-Manchester  route, 
there  was  not  the  difficulty  of  landing  safely,  over 
the  English  route.  The  Hudson  flight  meant  one 
hundred  and  fifty-two  miles  over  a  broad,  swift 
stream,  flowing  between  high  hills  or  rugged 
mountains  the  entire  distance  and  with  seldom  a 
place  to  land ;  it  meant  a  fight  against  treacherous 
and  varying  wind  currents  rushing  out  unawares 
through  clefts  in  the  mountains,  and  possible  mo- 
tor trouble  that  would  land  both  machine  and  avi- 
ator in  the  water  with  not  much  chance  of  escape 
from  drowning,  even  if  uninjured  in  alighting. 


CHAPTER  III 

FLIGHT  DOWN  THE  HUDSON  RIVER  FROM  ALBANY  TO 
NEW  YORK  CITY 

TO  fly  from  Albany  to  New  York  City  was 
quite  an  undertaking  in  the  summer  of  1910. 
I  realised  that  success  would  depend  upon  a  de- 
pendable motor  and  a  reliable  aeroplane.  In 
preparation  for  the  task,  therefore,  I  set  the  fac- 
tory at  Hammondsport  to  work  to  build  a  new 
machine.  While  awaiting  the  completion  of  the 
machine,  I  took  a  trip  up  the  Hudson  from  New 
York  to  Albany  to  look  over  the  course  and  to  se- 
lect a  place  about  half  way  between  the  two  cities 
where  a  landing  for  gasoline  and  oil  might  be 
made,  should  it  become  necessary. 

There  are  very  few  places  for  an  aeroplane  to 
land  with  safety  around  New  York  City.  The 
official  final  landing  place,  stipulated  in  the  condi- 
tions drawn  up  by  the  New  York  World,  was  to  be 
Governor's  Island,  but  I  wanted  to  know  of  an- 
other place  on  the  upper  edge  of  the  city  where 
I  might  come  down  if  it  should  prove  necessary. 
I  looked  all  over  the  upper  end  of  Manhattan  Is- 
land, and  at  last  found  a  little  meadow  on  a  side 
hill  just  at  the  junction  of  the  Hudson  and  Har- 

91 


92       THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

lem  rivers,  at  a  place  called  Inwood.  It  was 
small  and  sloping,  but  had  the  advantage  of  being 
within  the  limits  of  New  York  City.  It  proved 
fortunate  for  me  that  I  had  selected  this  place, 
for  it  later  served  to  a  mighty  good  advantage. 

There  was  quite  a  party  of  us  aboard  the  Hud- 
son river  boat  leaving  New  York  City  one  day  in 
May  for  the  trip  to  Albany.  As  an  illustration 
of  the  scepticism  among  the  steamboat  men,  I 
remember  that  I  approached  an  officer  and  asked 
several  questions  about  the  weather  conditions 
on  the  river,  and  particularly  as  to  the  prevailing 
winds  at  that  period  of  the  year.  Incidentally,  I 
remarked  that  I  was  contemplating  a  trip  up  the 
river  from  New  York  to  Albany  in  an  aeroplane 
and  wanted  to  collect  all  the  reliable  data  possible 
on  atmospheric  conditions.  This  officer,  whom  I 
afterward  learned  was  the  first  mate,  answered 
all  my  questions  courteously,  but  it  was  evident 
to  all  of  us  that  he  believed  I  was  crazy.  He  took 
me  to  the  captain  of  the  big  river  boat  and  intro- 
duced me,  saying:  " Captain,  this  is  Mr.  Curtiss, 
the  flying  machine  man;  that's  all  I  know,"  in  a 
tone  that  clearly  indicated  that  he  disclaimed  all 
responsibility  as  to  anything  I  might  do  or  say. 

The  captain  was  very  kind  and  courteous,  ask- 
ing us  to  remain  in  the  pilot  house,  where  we 
might  get  a  better  view  of  the  country  along  the 
way,  and  displaying  the  keenest  interest  in  the 
project.  He  answered  all  our  questions  about 


Copyright,  1910,  by  The  PirtorUl  News  Co. 

THE  ALBANY-NEW   YORK   HUDSON   FLIGHT 

(A)    Start  of  the  flight  at  Albany.     Mrs.  Curtiss  and  Augustus  Post  standing 
by  Curtiss.    (B)    Over  West  Point  Military  Academy — "The  new  kind  of  invader" 


Copyright,  1910,  by  The  Pictorial  News  Co. 

THE  HUDSON  PLIGHT 
Over  Storm  King 


THE  HUDSON  FLIGHT  93 

the  winds  along  the  Hudson  and  seemed  to  enter 
heartily  in  the  spirit  of  the  thing  until  we  ap- 
proached the  great  bridge  at  Poughkeepsie  and  I 
began  to  deliberate  whether  it  would  be  better  to 
pass  over  or  beneath  it  in  the  aeroplane.  Then 
it  seemed  really  to  dawn  upon  the  captain  for  the 
first  time  that  I  was  actually  going  to  fly  down 
the  river  in  an  aeroplane.  He  apparently  failed 
to  grasp  the  situation,  and  thereafter  his  answers 
were  vague  and  given  without  interest.  It  was 
"Oh,  yes,  I  guess  so,"  and  similar  doubtful  ex- 
pressions, but  when  we  finally  left  the  boat  at  Al- 
bany he  very  kindly  wished  me  a  safe  trip  and 
promised  to  blow  the  whistle  if  I  should  pass  his 
boat. 

Albany  afforded  a  better  starting  place  than 
New  York,  because  there  were  convenient  spots 
where  one  might  land  before  getting  well  under 
way,  should  it  become  necessary.  This  was  not 
true  of  the  situation  at  New  York  City.  As  to 
the  advantage  of  prevailing  winds,  it  seemed  to 
be  in  favour  of  Albany  as  the  starting  place,  and 
I  finally  decided  to  have  everything  sent  up  to  the 
capital  city.  On  my  way  up  I  had  stopped  at 
Poughkeepsie,  in  order  to  select  a  landing  place, 
as  at  least  one  stop  was  deemed  necessary  to  take 
on  gasoline  and  to  look  over  the  motor.  We  vis- 
ited the  State  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  which 
stands  on  the  hill  just  above  Poughkeepsie,  and 
which  seemed  to  be  a  good  place  to  land.  Dr. 


94       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Taylor,  the  superintendent,  showed  us  about  the 
grounds,  and  when  told  that  I  intended  stopping 
there  on  my  way  down  the  river  in  a  flying  ma- 
chine, said  with  much  cordiality:  "Why,  cer- 
tainly, Mr.  Curtiss,  come  right  in  here;  here's 
where  all  the  flying  machine  inventors  land. ' ' 

Notwithstanding  the  Doctor's  cordial  invita- 
tion to  "drop  in  on  him,"  we  went  to  the  other 
side  of  Poughkeepsie,  and  there  found  a  fine  open 
field  at  a  place  called  Camelot.  I  looked  over  the 
ground  carefully,  locating  the  ditches  and  fur- 
rows, and  selected  the  very  best  place  to  make  a 
safe  landing.  Arrangements  were  made  for  a 
supply  of  gasoline,  water,  and  oil  to  be  brought 
to  the  field  and  held  in  readiness.  It  was  fortu- 
nate that  I  looked  over  the  Camelot  field,  for  a 
few  days  later  I  landed  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
place  I  had  selected  as  the  most  favoured  spot 
near  Poughkeepsie.  This  is  but  one  thing  that 
illustrates  how  the  whole  trip  was  outlined  before 
the  start  was  made,  and  how  this  plan  was  fol- 
lowed out  according  to  arrangement. 

I  shall  always  remember  Albany  as  the  starting 
place  of  my  first  long  cross-country  flight.  My 
machine  was  brought  over  from  Hammondsport 
and  set  up ;  the  Aero  Club  sent  up  its  official  rep- 
resentatives, Mr.  Augustus  Post  and  Mr.  Jacob 
L.  Ten  Eyck,  and  the  newspapers  of  New  York 
City  sent  a  horde  of  reporters.  A  special  train 
was  engaged  to  start  from  Albany  as  soon  as  I 


THE  HUDSON  FLIGHT  95 

got  under  way,  carrying  the  newspapermen  and 
the  Aero  Club  representatives,  as  well  as  several 
invited  guests.  It  was  the  purpose  to  have  this 
train  keep  even  with  me  along  the  entire  trip  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty- two  miles,  but  as  it  turned 
out,  it  had  some  trouble  in  living  up  to  the  sched- 
ule. 

The  aeroplane,  christened  the  " Hudson  Flier," 
was  set  up  on  Eensselaer  Island.  It  was  now 
up  to  the  weather  man  to  furnish  conditions  I 
considered  suitable.  This  proved  a  hard  task, 
and  for  three  days  I  got  up  at  daybreak,  when 
there  is  normally  the  least  wind,  ready  to  make 
an  early  start.  On  these  days  the  newspapermen 
and  officials,  not  to  mention  crowds  of  curious 
spectators,  rubbed  the  sleep  out  of  their  eyes  be- 
fore the  sun  got  up  and  went  out  to  Eensselaer 
Island.  But  the  wind  was  there  ahead  of  us  and 
it  blew  all  day  long.  The  weather  bureau  prom- 
ised repeatedly,  "fair  weather,  with  light  winds," 
but  couldn't  live  up  to  promises.  I  put  in  some 
of  the  time  in  going  over  every  nut,  bolt,  and  turn- 
buckle  on  the  machine  with  shellac.  Nothing  was 
overlooked;  everything  was  made  secure.  I  had 
confidence  in  the  machine.  I  knew  I  could  land 
on  the  water  if  it  became  necessary,  as  I  had  af- 
fixed two  light  pontoons  to  the  lower  plane,  one 
on  either  end,  and  a  hydro-surface  under  the  front 
wheel  of  the  landing-gear.  This  would  keep  me 
afloat  some  time  should  I  come  down  in  the  river. 


96       THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

We  bothered  the  life  out  of  the  weather  ob- 
server at  Albany,  but  he  was  always  very  kind 
and  took  pains  to  get  weather  reports  from  every 
point  along  the  river.  But  the  newspapermen 
lost  faith;  they  were  tired  of  the  delay. 
I  have  always  observed  that  newspapermen, 
who  work  at  a  high  tension,  cannot  endure  delay 
when  there  is  a  good  piece  of  news  in  prospect. 
One  of  those  at  Albany  during  the  wait,  offered 
to  lay  odds  with  the  others  that  I  would  not  make 
a  start.  Others  among  the  journalists  believed  I 
was  looking  for  free  advertising,  and  when  an- 
other of  the  advertised  starters  for  the  World 
prize  reached  Albany  he  was  greeted  with: 
4 'Hello,  old  man,  are  you  up  here  to  get  some  free 
advertising,  too?"  One  of  the  Poughkeepsie  pa- 
pers printed  an  editorial  about  this  time,  in  which 
it  said:  "Curtiss  gives  us  a  pain  in  the  neck. 
All  those  who  are  waiting  to  see  him  go  down  the 
river  are  wasting  their  time."  This  was  a  fair 
sample  of  the  lack  of  faith  in  the  undertaking. 

The  machine  was  the  centre  of  interest  at  Al- 
bany during  the  wait.  It  seemed  to  hold  a  fas- 
cination for  the  crowds  that  came  over  to  the  is- 
land. One  young  fellow  gazed  at  it  so  long  and 
so  intently  that  he  finally  fell  over  backwards 
insensible  and  it  was  some  time  before  he  was 
restored  to  consciousness.  Then  one  of  the  news- 
papermen dashed  a  pail  of  water  over  him  and  at 
once  sent  his  paper  a  column  about  it.  They  had 


THE  HUDSON  FLIGHT  97 

to  find  something  to  write  about  and  the  country- 
man, the  flying  machine,  and  the  fit  made  a  com- 
bination good  enough  for  almost  any  newspaper- 
man to  weave  an  interesting  yarn  about. 

Our  period  of  waiting  almost  ended  on  Saturday 
morning,  May  30th.  The  "Hudson  Flier"  was 
brought  out  of  its  tent,  groomed  and  fit ;  the  spe- 
cial train  provided  by  the  New  York  Times  to  fol- 
low me  over  the  New  York  Central,  stood  ready, 
with  steam  up  and  the  engineer  holding  a  right- 
of-way  order  through  to  New  York.  The  news- 
papermen, always  on  the  job,  and  the  guests  were 
watching  eagerly  for  the  aeroplane  to  start  and 
set  out  on  its  long  and  hazardous  flight. 

Then  something  happened — the  wind  came  up. 
At  first  it  did  not  seem  to  be  more  than  a  breeze, 
but  it  grew  stronger  and  reports  from  down  the 
river  told  of  a  strong  wind  blowing  up  the  river. 
This  would  have  meant  a  head  gale  all  the  way  to 
New  York,  should  I  make  a  start  then.  Every- 
thing was  called  off  for  the  day  and  we  all  went 
over  and  visited  the  State  Capitol.  The  newspa- 
permen swallowed  their  disappointment  and 
hoped  for  better  things  on  the  morrow. 

Sunday  proved  to  be  the  day.  The  delay  had 
got  somewhat  on  my  nerves  and  I  had  determined 
to  make  a  start  if  there  was  half  a  chance.  The 
morning  was  calm  and  bright — a  perfect  summer 
day.  News  from  down  the  river  was  all  favour- 
able. I  determined  it  was  now  or  never.  I  sent 


98      THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Mrs.  Curtiss  to  the  special  train  and  informed  the 
World  representative  and  the  Aero  Club  officials 
that  I  was  ready  to  go.  Shortly  after  eight 

0  'clock  the  motor  was  turned  over  and  I  was  off ! 

It  was  plain  sailing  after  I  got  up  and  away 
from  Eensselaer  Island.  The  air  was  calm  and 

1  felt  an  immense  sense  of  relief.    The  motor 
sounded  like  music  and  the  machine  handled  per- 
fectly.   I  was  soon  over  the  river  and  when  I 
looked  down  I  could  see  deep  down  beneath  the 
surface.    This  is  one  of  the  peculiar  things  about 
flying  over  the  water.    When  high  up  a  person 
is  able  to  see  farther  beneath  the  surface. 

I  kept  a  close  lookout  for  the  special  train, 
which  could  not  get  under  way  as  quickly  as  I  had, 
and  pretty  soon  I  caught  sight  of  it  whirling  along 
on  the  tracks  next  to  the  river  bank.  I  veered 
over  toward  the  train  and  flew  along  even  with 
the  locomotive  for  miles.  I  could  see  the  people 
with  their  heads  out  the  windows,  some  of  them 
waving  their  hats  or  hands,  while  the  ladies 
shook  their  handkerchiefs  or  veils  frantically.  It 
was  no  effort  at  all  to  keep  up  with  the  train, 
which  was  making  fifty  miles  an  hour.  It  was 
like  a  real  race  and  I  enjoyed  the  contest  more 
than  anything  else  during  the  flight.  At  times  I 
would  gain  as  the  train  swung  around  a  short 
curve  and  thus  lost  ground,  while  I  continued  on 
in  an  air  line. 

All  along  the  river,  wherever  there  was  a  vil- 


THE  HUDSON  FLIGHT  99 

lage  or  town,  and  even  along  the  roads  and  in 
boats  on  the  river,  I  caught  glimpses  of  crowds 
or  groups  of  people  with  their  faces  turned  sky- 
ward, their  attitudes  betokening  the  amazement 
which  could  not  be  read  in  their  faces  at  that  dis- 
tance. Boatmen  on  the  river  swung  their  caps  in 
mute  greeting,  while  now  and  then  a  river  tug 
with  a  long  line  of  scows  in  tow,  sent  greetings 
in  a  blast  of  white  steam,  indicating  there  was  the 
sound  of  a  whistle  behind.  But  I  heard  nothing 
but  the  steady,  even  roar  of  the  motor  in  perfect 
rhythm,  and  the  whirr  of  the  propeller.  Not  even 
the  noise  of  the  speeding  special  train  only  a  few 
hundred  feet  below  reached  me,  although  I  could 
see  every  turn  of  the  great  drive-wheels  on  the 
engine. 

On  we  sped,  the  train  and  the  aeroplane,  repre- 
senting a  century  of  the  history  of  transporta- 
tion, keeping  abreast  until  Hudson  had  been  past. 
Here  the  aeroplane  began  to  gain,  and  as  the 
train  took  a  wide  sweeping  curve  away  from  the 
bank  of  the  river,  I  increased  the  lead  perceptibly, 
and  soon  lost  sight  of  the  special. 

It  seemed  but  a  few  minutes  until  the  great 
bridge  spanning  the  Hudson  at  Poughkeepsie, 
came  into  view.  It  was  a  welcome  landmark,  for 
I  knew  that  I  had  covered  more  than  half  the  jour- 
ney from  Albany  to  New  York,  and  that  I  must 
stop  to  replenish  the  gasoline.  I  might  have  gone 
on  and  taken  a  chance  on  having  enough  fuel,  but 


100     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

this  was  not  the  time  for  taking  chances.     There 
was  too  much  at  stake. 

I  steered  straight  for  the  centre  of  the  Pough- 
keepsie  bridge,  and  passed  a  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  above  it.  The  entire  population  of  Pough- 
keepsie  had  turned  out,  apparently,  and  resem- 
bled swarms  of  busy  ants,  running  here  and  there, 
waving  their  hats  and  hands.  I  kept  close  watch 
for  the  place  where  I  had  planned  to  turn  off  the 
river  course  and  make  a  landing.  A  small  pier 
jutting  out  into  the  river  was  the  mark  I  had 
chosen  beforehand  and  it  soon  came  into  view.  I 
made  a  wide  circle  and  turned  inland,  over  a 
clump  of  trees,  and  landed  on  the  spot  I  had 
chosen  on  my  way  up  to  Albany.  But  the  gaso- 
line and  oil  which  I  had  expected  to  find  waiting 
for  me,  were  not  there.  I  saw  no  one  for  a  time, 
but  soon  a  number  of  men  came  running  across 
the  fields  and  a  number  of  automobiles  turned  off 
the  road  and  raced  toward  the  aeroplane.  I 
asked  for  some  gasoline  and  an  automobile  hur- 
ried away  to  bring  it. 

I  could  scarcely  hear  and  there  was  a  continual 
ringing  in  my  ears.  This  was  the  effect  of  the 
roaring  motor,  and  strange  to  say,  this  did  not 
cease  until  the  motor  was  started  again.  From 
that  time  on  there  was  no  disagreeable  sensation. 
The  special  train  reached  the  Camelot  field 
shortly  after  I  landed  and  soon  the  newspaper- 
men, the  Aero  Club  officials,  and  the  guests  came 


THE  HUDSON  FLIGHT  101 

climbing  up  the  hill  from  the  river,  all  eager  to 
extend  their  congratulations.  Henry  Kleckler, 
acting  as  .my  mechanic,  who  had  come  along  on 
the  special  train,  looked  over  the  machine  care- 
fully, testing  every  wire,  testing  the  motor  out, 
and  taking  every  precaution  to  make  the  re- 
mainder of  the  journey  as  successful  as  the  first 
half.  The  gasoline  having  arrived,  and  the  tank 
being  refilled,  the  special  train  got  under  way; 
once  more  I  rose  into  the  air,  and  the  final  lap  of 
the  journey  was  on. 

Out  over  the  trees  to  the  river  I  set  my  course, 
and  when  I  was  about  midstream,  turned  south. 
At  the  start  I  climbed  high  above  the  river,  and 
then  dropped  down  close  to  the  water.  I  wanted 
to  feel  out  the  air  currents,  believing  that  I  would 
be  more  likely  to  find  steady  air  conditions  near 
the  water.  I  was  mistaken  in  this,  however,  and 
soon  got  up  several  hundred  feet  and  maintained 
about  an  even  altitude  of  from  five  hundred  to 
seven  hundred  feet.  Everything  went  along 
smoothly  until  I  came  within  sight  of  West  Point. 
Here  the  wind  was  nasty  and  shook  me  up  con- 
siderably. Gusts  shot  out  from  the  rifts  between 
the  mountains  and  made  extremely  rough  riding. 
The  worst  spot  was  encountered  between  Storm 
King  and  Dunderberg,  where  the  river  is  narrow 
and  the  mountains  rise  abruptly  from  the  water's 
edge  to  more  than  a  thousand  feet  on  either  side. 
Here  I  ran  into  a  downward  suction  that  dropped 


102     THE  CTJBTISS  AVIATION*  BOOK 

me  in  what  seemed  an  interminable  fall  straight 
down,  but  which  as  a  matter  of  fact  was  not  more 
than  a  hundred  feet  or  perhaps  less.  It  was  one 
of  Willard's  famous  "holes  in  the  air."  The  at- 
mosphere seemed  to  tumble  about  like  water 
rushing  through  a  narrow  gorge.  At  another 
point,  a  little  farther  along,  and  after  I  had 
dropped  down  close  to  the  water,  one  blast  tipped 
a  wing  dangerously  high,  and  I  almost  touched 
the  water.  I  thought  for  an  instant  that  my  trip 
was  about  to  end,  and  made  a  quick  mental  calcu- 
lation as  to  the  length  of  time  it  would  take  a 
boat  to  reach  me  after  I  should  drop  into  the 
water. 

The  danger  passed  as  quickly  as  it  had  come, 
however,  and  the  machine  righted  itself  and  kept 
on.  Down  by  the  Palisades  we  soared,  rising 
above  the  steep  cliff s  that  wall  the  stream  on  the 
west  side.  Whenever  I  could  give  my  attention 
to  things  other  than  the  machine,  I  kept  watch 
for  the  special  train.  Now  and  then  I  caught 
glimpses  of  it  whirling  along  the  bank  of  the 
river,  but  for  the  greater  part  of  the  way  I  out- 
distanced it. 

Soon  I  caught  sight  of  some  of  the  sky-scrap- 
ers that  make  the  sky-line  of  New  York  City  the 
most  wonderful  in  the  world.  First  I  saw  the  tall 
frame  of  the  Metropolitan  Tower,  and  then  the 
lofty  Singer  building.  These  landmarks  looked 
mighty  good  to  me,  for  I  knew  that,  given  a  few 


THE  HUDSON  FLIGHT  103 

more  minutes'  time,  I  would  finish  the  flight.  Ap- 
proaching Spuyten  Duyvil,  just  above  the  Harlem 
river,  I  looked  at  my  oil  gauge  and  discovered 
that  the  supply  was  almost  exhausted.  I  dared 
not  risk  going  on  to  Governor's  Island,  some  fif- 
teen miles  farther,  for  once  past  the  Harlem  river 
there  would  be  no  place  to  land  short  of  the  is- 
land. So  I  took  a  wide  sweep  across  to  the  Jersey 
side  of  the  river,  circled  around  toward  the  New 
York  side,  and  put  in  over  the  Harlem  river,  look- 
ing for  the  little  meadow  at  Inwood  which  I  had 
picked  out  as  a  possible  landing  place  some  two 
weeks  before. 

There  I  landed  on  the  sloping  hillside,  and 
went  immediately  to  a  telephone  to  call  up  the 
New  York  World.  I  told  them  I  had  landed 
within  the  city  limits  and  was  coming  down  the 
river  to  Governor's  Island  soon. 

I  got  more  oil,  some  one  among  the  crowd,  that 
gathered  as  if  by  magic,  turned  my  propeller,  and 
I  got  away  safely  on  the  last  leg  of  the  flight. 
"While  I  had  complied  with  the  conditions  govern- 
ing the  flight  by  landing  in  the  city  limits,  I 
wanted  to  go  on  to  Governor's  Island  and  give 
the  people  the  chance  to  see  the  machine  in  flight. 

From  the  extreme  northern  limits  of  New  York 
to  Governor's  Island,  at  the  southern  limits,  was 
the  most  inspiring  part  of  the  trip.  News  of  the 
approach  of  the  aeroplane  had  spread  throughout 
the  city,  and  I  could  see  crowds  everywhere. 


104     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

New  York  can  turn  out  a  million  people  probably 
quicker  than  any  other  place  on  earth,  and  it  cer- 
tainly looked  as  though  half  of  the  population 
was  along  Eiverside  Drive  or  on  top  of  the  thou- 
sands of  apartment  houses  that  stretch  for  miles 
along  the  river.  Every  craft  on  the  river  turned 
on  its  siren  and  faint  sounds  of  the  clamour 
reached  me  even  above  the  roar  of  my  motor.  It 
seemed  but  a  moment  until  the  Statue  of  Lib- 
erty came  into  view.  I  turned  westward,  circled 
the  Lady  with  the  Torch  and  alighted  safely  on 
the  parade  ground  on  Governor's  Island. 

General  Frederick  Grant,  commanding  the  De- 
partment of  the  East,  was  one  of  the  first  officers 
who  came  up  to  extend  congratulations  and  to 
compliment  me  on  the  success  of  the  undertak- 
ing. From  that  moment  I  had  little  chance  for 
anything  except  the  luncheons  and  dinners  to 
which  I  was  invited.  First  came  the  luncheon  at 
the  Astor  House  given  by  the  New  York  World, 
and  then  the  big  banquet  at  the  Hotel  Astor,  pre- 
sided over  by  Mayor  Gaynor  and  attended  by 
many  prominent  men  interested  in  aviation. 
The  speeches  were  all  highly  laudatory,  of  course, 
and  there  were  many  predictions  by  the  orators 
that  the  Hudson  river  would  become  a  highway 
for  aerial  craft,  as  it  had  for  steam  craft  when 
Fulton  first  steered  the  old  Clermont  from  New 
York  to  Albany. 

On  the  trip  down  from  Albany  I  carried  a  letter 


THE  HUDSON  FLIGHT  105 

from  the  mayor  of  that  city  to  Mayor  Gaynor, 
and  delivered  it  in  less  time  than  it  would  have 
taken  the  fastest  mail  train.  My  actual  flying 
time  was  two  hours,  fifty-one  minutes,  the  dis- 
tance one  hundred  and  fifty- two  miles,  and  the 
average  speed  fifty-two  miles  an  hour. 

From  Albany  to  Poughkeepsie  is  eighty-seven 
miles,  and  by  making  this  in  a  continuous  flight  I 
had,  incidentally,  won  the  Scientific  American 
trophy  for  the  third  time.  It  now  became  my 
personal  property,  and  its  formal  presentation 
was  made  at  the  annual  dinner  of  the  Aero  Club 
of  America  for  that  year. 

NOTE   BY  AUGUSTUS   POST 

The  newspapers  made  much  of  Mr.  Curtiss' 
flight,  drawing  comparisons  between  the  Hudson 
river  course  and  the  flight  made  by  Bleriot 
across  the  English  channel,  and  the  trip  of  Paul- 
han  from  London  to  Manchester,  which  he  had 
just  accomplished — a  flight  of  about  the  same  dis- 
tance, for  which  he  received  fifty  thousand  dollars 
from  the  London  Daily  Mail. 

The  New  York  Times  offered  a  large  prize  for 
a  flight  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia  and  re- 
turn, immediately  afterward,  which  Charles  K. 
Hamilton  won,  and  also  offered  a  prize  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars  for  a  flight  between  New 
York  and  Chicago,  which  was  never  won.  Mr. 
W.  E.  Hearst  was  also  moved  to  offer  fifty  thou- 


106     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

sand  dollars  for  a  flight  between  New  York  and  a 
point  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  the  offer  standing  open 
for  one  year.  This  flight  was  accomplished  by 
Calbraith  P.  Eodgers,  but  was  not  concluded  with- 
in the  time  limit. 

There  was,  naturally,  an  outburst  of  editorial 
comment  from  newspapers  all  over  the  United 
States,  not  only  long  and  scholarly  leaders,  but 
brief,  snappy  paragraphs  that  make  the  press  of 
this  country  an  interesting  record  of  public  feel- 
ing and  sentiment  on  all  extraordinary  achieve- 
ments. For  instance,  the  St.  Louis  Times  spoke 
of  the  passing  of  the  new  aerial  menace  over  West 
Point  where  cadets  were  studying  the  history  of 
military  science  along  ancient  lines,  and  the  Chi- 
cago Inter-Ocean  chuckled  over  how  this  latest 
achievement  " would  jar  old  Hendrik  Hudson." 

The  Newark  News  declared  that  "the  Indian 
canoe,  the  Half  mo  on,  the  Clermont  and  the  Cur- 
tiss  biplane  each  represented  a  human  achieve- 
ment that  marked  an  epoch, "  while  the  Provi- 
dence News  believed  that  "  valuable  as  was  as- 
tronomer Halley's  naming  of  a  comet,  Mr.  Curtiss 
has  accomplished  something  of  more  practical 
value  to  the  world"  and  the  York  Gazette  com- 
pared the  flight  down  the  Hudson  Valley  by  the 
aeroplane,  to  the  conquest  of  the  North  Pole. 
There  were  other  interesting  points  of  view 
taken  by  the  press,  the  Birmingham  News,  for  in- 
stance, expressing  the  opinion  that  the  New  York 


Copyright,  lylu,  by  Tlie  Pict«iri:.l  News  Co. 

THE  HUDSON  PLIGHT 

(A)    Stop  at   Poughkeepsie.      (B)   Finish,   at   Governor's  Island 


THE  EVOLUTION  OP  THE  HYDRO 

(A)  The  first  hydro  In  the  world — the  "June  Bug"  on  pontoons,  Hammonds- 
port,  November  5,  1908.  (B)  Developing  Hydro  at  San  Diego — Curtlss  and 
Ellyson  In  hydro  of  winter,  1911  ;  dual  control — either  of  two  military  aviators 


THE  HUDSON  FLIGHT  107 

World  was  extravagant,  as  "it  had  paid  $10,- 
000.00  for  Curtiss'  ticket  from  Albany  to  New 
York,  when  it  might  have  brought  him  down  by 
train  for  $4.65."  The  Battle  Creek  Enquirer 
said  that  Mr.  Curtiss  ought  to  go  into  politics, 
for  "a  man  who  can  soar  as  high,  stay  up  as  long, 
travel  as  far,  light  as  safely,  all  on  wind,  would 
have  the  rest  of  them  tied  to  the  post."  But  the 
Savannah  News  intimated  that  nobody  could 
blame  Mr.  Curtiss  from  flying  away  from  the  Al- 
bany Legislature  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  a  minute. 
The  Birmingham  Age-Herald  declared  that  the 
way  was  paved  for  other  and  greater  flights,  even 
across  the  Atlantic  ocean,  and  indeed,  the  ocean 
flight  now  seemed  to  the  press  a  not  far  distant 
possibility.  The  Rochester  Chronicle-Democrat 
argued  that  the  bench  and  bar  would  now  have  an 
opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  all  their  legal 
ability  to  settle  the  question  "who  owns  the  air!" 
But  it  was  left  to  the  Houston  Post  to  break  into 
poetry  in  the  following  outburst  of  local  pride: 

"The  wonder  is  that  Curtiss  did 
Not  pass  New  York  and  onward  whiz 
Southwest  by  south,  half  south,  until 
He  got  where  Houston,  Texas,  is." 

But  perhaps  the  most  characteristic  comments 
were  those  like  that  of  the  New  York  Evening 
Mail: 

"  In  erery  newspaper  that  you  picked  up  yes- 


108     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

terday  you  read  a  thrilling  account  of  the  great 
achievement  of  Glenn  H.  Curtiss.  The  detailed 
description  of  his  wonderful  flight  stirred  every 
emotion  in  you.  Chills  ran  up  your  spine  and 
tears  of  joy  came  to  your  eyes  as  you  read  on  and 
on  of  the  courage  of  the  man  who  propelled  his 
airship  at  a  speed  of  fifty-three  miles  an  hour  at 
a  height  of  a  thousand  feet  above  the  earth.  He 
realised  all  of  the  time  that  a  broken  bolt  or  some 
little  thing  gone  wrong  might  dash  him  to  death." 
It  is  of  course  quite  impossible  to  give  even  a 
small  proportion  of  the  bright  comments  that 
were  made  by  the  newspapers  not  only  of  this 
country,  but  even  by  the  foreign  press.  The  New 
York  Times  sent  a  special  train  to  follow  the 
flight,  on  which  I  rode  as  the  representative  of 
the  Aero  Club  of  America.  Here  is  my  report  in 
the  Times: 

"7:02  A.  M. — Mr.  Curtiss  started  from  Van  Rensselaer  Island, 
Albany.  Jacob  L.  Ten  Eyek  official  starter  for  Aero 
Club  of  America. 

7:03 — Passed  over  the  city  limits  of  Albany. 

7:20— New  Baltimore. 

7:26 — Twenty-one  miles.  The  Times  special  train  caught  up 
with  aeroplane. 

7:27 — Milton  Hook  brick  yards.  Wind  still.  Aeroplane  fly- 
ing about  45  miles  per  hour.  Passed  lighthouse  on  west 
side  of  Hudson  River. 

7:32 — Stockport.     Twenty- four  miles. 

7:35 — Hudson.  Twenty-nine  miles.  Aeroplane  flying  high. 
Catskill  Mountain  houses  could  be  seen  in  the  distance. 


THE  HUDSON  FLIGHT  109 

Machine   flying   steady,   water  was  calm,   small   ripples 

along  the  surface. 
7:36 — Thirty  miles.     The  Times  special  train  passed  through 

tunnel  parallel  with  'plane. 
7  'A0y2— Tower  81,  New  York  Central  Railroad.    Greensdale 

ferry. 

7:41 — Catskill  on  west  shore  of  Hudson  River.     Flying  high. 
7:44% — Water  trough  in  centre  of  track.     Train  equal  with 

'plane.     Linlithgo  Station. 

7:46 — Germantown  steamer  dock.     Aeroplane  flying  well. 
7:48 — Passed  old  steamboat  on  west  side  of  the  river.     Ger- 
mantown Station.     Aeroplane  pitched  when  foot  oil  pump 

was  used.     Slight  ripples  on  the  water. 

7 :51 — The  Times  special  train  running  parallel  with  aeroplane. 
7:53— Tivoli.    Forty-four  miles.    Aeroplane  1,000  feet  high. 

Wind  slightly  from  the  west. 
7:58 — Barrytown.     Forty-nine    miles.    Aeroplane    about    800 

feet  high,  descending  a  little  lower  until  about  400  feet 

high. 
8:03 — Kingston.     Brick  yards  on  west  shore  of  river.     Mr. 

Curtiss  is  flying  very  near  The  Times  special  train,  within 

perhaps  100  yards. 
8:04 — Aeroplane   turns   toward   west.     Heads    a   little   more 

into  the  wind  and  crosses  to  the  west  side  of  the  river  at 

high  speed. 
8:05 — Private  yacht  dock  on  east  side  of  river.    Aeroplane 

flying  high  again. 
8:06 — Rhineclifl:    Ferry.     Fifty-four    miles.    Aeroplane    has 

been  flying   one  hour  and  four  minutes.     Seems  to  be 

flying  well. 

8 :08— Passing  Tower  67,  New  York  Central  Railroad. 
8:08% — The  Times  special  train  passed  through  tunnel.    Mr. 

Curtiss  goes  back  to  west  side  of  river,  flying  over  ice- 
houses. 

8:11 — Passed  lighthouse  in  middle  of  river.     The  aeroplane 
seems  to  be  rising  and  falling  slowly  on  the  varying  cur- 


110     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

rents  of  air.  River  is  very  wide  at  this  point.  There  are 
large  stone  crushers  on  the  west  shore,  and  a  large  stone 
building  of  an  institution  on  the  bank  of  the  river. 

8:12  —  Staatsburg.     Sixty  miles. 

8  :16  —  Aeroplane  now  is  passing  over  a  large  white  house,  some 
private  residence  on  the  west  shore  of  the  river.  Aero- 
plane is  flying  past  freight  train  on  the  West  Shore  Rail- 
road. 

8  :18—  Hyde  Park  Station.     Sixty-four  miles.     The  Times  spe- 

cial train  passing  water  trough  in  centre  of  railway  track. 
Passing  Insane  Asylum  at  Poughkeepsie. 

8:20  —  Passing  upper  portion  of  Poughkeepsie.  'Plane  over 
river. 

8:24  —  Passing  Poughkeepsie  Bridge.  Aeroplane  about  200 
feet  above  it. 

8:25V£  —  The  Times  special  train  goes  through  Poughkeepsie 
Station. 

8:30—  The  Times  special  train  arrives  at  Gill's  Mill  Dock, 
opposite  landing  place  of  Mr.  Curtiss.  Aeroplane  landed 
according  to  Mr.  Curtiss's  watch  on  his  machine  at  8:26. 
I  left  special  train  and  went  to  the  field  where  Mr.  Cur- 
tiss had  landed,  arriving  a  few  minutes  later.  The  tanks 
of  the  machine  were  filled  with  eight  gallons  of  gasoline 
and  one  gallon  and  a  half  of  oil.  The  machine  was  exam- 
ined carefully  and  found  to  be  in  good  order,  one  wire 
being  stayed  to  prevent  vibration.  George  Collingwood 
took  The  Times  special  train  party  to  New  Hamburg 
Station. 

9:26  —  Mr.  Curtiss  started  for  New  York  from  field  on  prop- 
erty of  Mr.  Gill. 

9  :31—  Camelot. 

10:02  —  West  Point.  Aeroplane  passed  over  Constitution  Is- 
land at  an  altitude  of  about  400  feet  above  the  land. 

10  :06—  Manitou. 


10:15  —  Ossining.    Aeroplane  flying  on  west  side  of  the  river. 


THE  HUDSON  FLIGHT  111 

10:25— Dobbs  Ferry. 

10:30 — Yonkers.    Aeroplane  flying  about  level  with  top  of 

Palisades. 
10:35 — Landed  214th  Street. — Inwood.     After  passing  down 

river  to  Dyckman  Street  and  returning  to  Spuyten  Duyvil 

and  passing  over  drawbridge  the  aeroplane  landed  upon 

the  property  of  the  Isham  estate. 
11:42 — Mr.  Curtiss  left  his  landing  place,  flying  again  over 

the  drawbridge,  out  over  the  Hudson  River,  turned  south. 
12:00  M. — Passed  New  York  City  and  landed  at  Governor's 

Island  at  noon. 

"Mr.  Curtiss  also  entered  for  the  Scientific  American  trophy 
and  the  first  flight  from  Albany  to  the  landing  place  at  Pough- 
keepsie,  the  exact  distance  of  which  is  to  be  determined  later, 
will  count  as  a  record  for  this  event,  and  if  not  exceeded  in 
the  year  will  stand  as  Mr.  Curtiss's  trial  for  this  trophy. 

"The  figures  as  finally  corrected  show  that  Mr.  Curtiss  was 
in  the  air  on  the  first  leg  of  his  flight  from  Albany  to  the  Gill 
farm  near  Poughkeepsie  1  hour  and  24  minutes ;  from  the  Gill 
farm  to  the  Isham  estate  at  214th  Street  1  hour  and  nine  min- 
utes, and  from  214th  Street  to  Governor's  Island  18  minutes, 
making  a  total  flying  time  for  the  150  miles  of  2  hours  and  51 
minutes. 

''Figured  on  the  basis  of  150  miles  for  the  entire  flight,  Mr. 
Curtiss  is  shown  to  have  maintained  an  average  speed  of  52.63 
miles  per  hour." — A.  P. 


CHAPTEE  IV 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  HYDROAEROPLANE 

THE  Albany  Flight  was  a  great  stimulus 
to  aeronautics  in  this  country.  Prizes  were 
at  once  offered  in  several  different  places  by  sev- 
eral different  newspapers,  and  a  great  many 
cities  wanted  to  have  public  flights  made  and  par- 
ticularly wanted  flights  to  be  made  over  water. 

At  Atlantic  City  I  flew  over  the  ocean,  making 
a  record  for  fifty  miles  over  water  on  a  measured 
course.  It  was  here  at  the  same  time  that  Wal- 
ter Brookins  made  a  world's  altitude  record  of 
over  six  thousand  feet  in  a  standard  Wright  ma- 
chine. Later  I  flew  from  Cleveland  to  Cedar 
Point,  near  Sandusky,  Ohio,  a  distance  of  sixty 
miles  over  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie,  and  returned 
next  day  in  a  rain  storm. 

After  making  flights  in  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  I 
thought  that  a  successful  meet  could  be  held  in 
New  York  City,  so  I  arranged  to  have  all  of  our 
forces  gathered  together  at  Sheepshead  Bay  race 
track,  near  Brighton  Beach,  N.  Y.,  and  during  the 
week  of  August  26,  1910,  we  had  an  aeroplane 
meet  at  which  Messrs.  J.  C.  Mars,  Charles  F.  Wil- 
lard,  Eugene  B.  Ely,  J.  A.  D.  McCurdy,  and  Au- 

112 


BEGINNING  THE  HYDRO  113 

gustus  Post  made  flights  and  this  meet  was  so 
successful  that  it  was  continued  for  a  second 
week.  Mr.  Ely  flew  to  Brighton  Beach  and  took 
dinner  and  then  flew  back.  Mr.  Mars  flew  out 
over  the  Lower  Bay  and  we  had  all  five  of  the 
machines  in  the  air  at  one  time  on  several  occa- 
sions— a  record  for  New  York  at  that  time.  It 
was  here  that  Mr.  Post  made  a  Bronco  Busting 
Flight  over  the  hurdles  at  the  Sheepshead  Bay 
track,  landing  safely  after  putting  his  machine 
through  all  manner  of  thrilling  manoeuvres. 

The  Harvard  Aeronautical  Society  had  ar- 
ranged a  meet  at  Boston,  Mass.,  which  followed 
directly  after  this  one,  and  Claude  Grahame- 
White,  the  famous  English  aviator,  who  was  later 
to  win  the  Gordon  Bennett  cup  at  Belmont  Park, 
came  over  from  England,  bringing  his  fast  Bler- 
iot  monoplane  with  him.  A  special  race  was  ar- 
ranged between  Mr.  White  in  his  Bleriot  and  my 
racing  biplane.  The  meet  was  a  great  success, 
and  but  a  very  small  margin  separated  Mr. 
White's  Bleriot  and  my  machine  when  we  tried 
out  our  best  speeds. 

Then  came  a  meet  at  Chicago,1  after  which  it 

i  NOTE  BY  AUGUSTUS  POST 

While  flying  in  the  Chicago  meet  we  had  four  machines  in 
the  air  at  once.  I  was  a  novice  at  flying  then  but  entered  the 
air  while  the  other  fellows  were  flying  around. 

Circling  the  track  I  was  just  passing  the  grand  stand  when 
Willard  swooped  down  in  front  of  me  having  passed  right  over 
my  head. 


114     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

was  arranged  that  three  machines  should  start  to 
fly  from  Chicago  to  New  York  for  the  New  York 
Times'  prize  of  $25,000.  A  team  was  made  up 
and  Mr.  Ely  was  chosen  to  make  the  attempt  to 
fly  to  New  York.  This  was  a  very  ambitious  un- 
dertaking for  this  period  in  the  history  of  avia- 
tion in  America,  for  the  longest  flight  that  up  to 
this  time  had  been  made  in  this  country  was  be- 
tween New  York  and  Philadelphia,  one  hundred 
and  eighty  miles ;  while  the  distance  between  Chi- 
cago and  New  York  was  fully  one  thousand  miles 
and  landings  were  very  difficult  to  accomplish  in 
the  broken  country  along  the  way.  Mr.  Ely 
made  a  good  attempt,  but  there  was  not  sufficient 
time  to  complete  the  trip  as  flights  had  already 
been  arranged  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  in  order  to 
go  there,  this  attempt  was  given  up. 

The  Gordon  Bennett  Aviation  Cup  race  was  the 

I  clung  on  to  the  steering  post  and  held  the  wheel  as  firmly 
as  I  could  while  to  my  great  consternation  the  machine  rocked 
and  swayed  fearfully  in  the  back  draft  from  Willard's  propeller. 
He  kept  doing  the  Dutch  Roll  and  the  Coney  Island  Dip  right 
in  front  of  me,  which  made  it  all  the  worse,  as  the  wash  of  the 
propeller  wake  would  strike  above  and  below  my  machine  as  he 
pitched  up  and  down  in  front  of  me.  I  stood  it  as  best  I  could, 
hardly  daring  to  breathe  but  holding  my  course  and  balancing 
with  all  my  might,  until  Willard  turned  off,  and  then  after  a 
bit  I  made  a  good  landing.  When  Willard  came  down  he  rushed 
up  to  me  and  grabbed  me  by  the  hand  and  said,  "Oh,  Post!  will 
you  ever  forgive  me  for  that?  I  ought  to  have  known  better 
than  to  back-wash  you  but  you  know  I  thought  you  were  Ely, 
and  I  wanted  to  scare  him!" — A.  P. 


BEGINNING  THE  HYDRO  115 

next  thing  to  arouse  the  interest  of  patriotic 
Americans  and  the  Aero  Club  of  America  had 
been  busy  with  arrangements  for  a  big  meet  to 
be  held  at  Belmont  Park,  near  New  York.  This 
was  the  largest  undertaking  that  the  club  had  up 
to  this  time  attempted  and  they  taxed  every  pos- 
sible resource,  with  the  splendid  result  of  secur- 
ing all  the  foremost  fliers  of  Europe,  as  well  as  of 
America,  to  participate. 

I  had  built  a  machine  for  the  trials  which  I 
thought  would  be  very  fast  and  had  constructed  it 
as  a  type  of  monoplane  in  order  to  cut  down  the 
head  resistance  to  the  very  least  possible  point. 
America  was  represented  by  Anthony  Drexel,  Jr., 
in  a  Bleriot;  by  the  Wright  Brothers,  who  had 
constructed  a  racing  machine  by  putting  a  pow- 
erful motor  in  a  small  machine  which  was  about 
one-half  the  size  of  their  regular  model,  and  by 
Mr.  Charles  K.  Hamilton,  who  flew  a  Curtiss  type 
machine,  but  with  a  large  power  motor  of  an- 
other make.  Mr.  Grahame- White  won  the  race 
in  his  Bleriot,  although  Mr.  Alfred  Leblanc,  rep- 
resenting France,  made  remarkable  time,  but  on 
the  last  lap  ran  into  a  telegraph  pole  on  one  of 
the  turns  and  smashed  his  machine  and  had  a 
most  miraculous  escape  from  being  killed. 

I  did  not  try  out  my  monoplane,  although  my 
regular  type  was  the  speediest  standard  biplane 
at  the  meet  and  was  very  well  handled  by  Ely, 


116     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Mars,  Willard,  and  McCurdy  who  flew  in  the  con- 
tests. I  had  given  up  public  flying  in  contests  at 
this  time. 

A  new  line  of  thought — or  to  express  it  more 
accurately,  the  following  out  of  a  very  old  one — 
was  taking  my  interest  and  a  great  part  of  my 
time.  The  experiments  I  had  in  mind  involved 
the  problem  of  flying  from  the  water  and  alight- 
ing on  the  water. 

The  season  of  1910  was  now  far  advanced 
and  it  was  time  to  make  plans  for  the  winter. 
Flying  meets  were  to  be  held  at  Los  Angeles 
again,  and  also  at  San  Francisco,  and  California 
seemed  the  best  place  to  go,  for  the  weather  there 
would  be  most  favourable  not  only  for  winter  fly- 
ing, but  also  for  carrying  on  the  experiments 
which  I  had  in  mind.  Meantime,  when  it  seemed 
as  if  all  the  paths  were  open  to  the  aeroplane  over 
the  land,  and  it  was  only  a  question  of  develop- 
ment, not  of  pioneering,  it  was  suggested  to  me 
by  the  New  York  World  to  launch  an  aeroplane 
from  the  deck  of  a  ship  at  sea  and  have  it  fly  back 
to  shore  carrying  messages. 

The  Hamburg  American  Steamship  Company 
offered  their  ocean  liner  Pennsylvania  for  this 
test,  and  I  sent  a  standard  Curtiss  biplane  to  be 
operated  by  J.  A.  D.  McCurdy.  The  ship  was 
fitted  with  a  large  platform,  erected  on  the  stern, 
a  platform  sloping  downward,  and  wide  enough 
to  allow  an  aeroplane  set  up  on  it  to  run  down 


BEGINNING  THE  HYDEO  117 

so  that  it  could  gather  headway  for  its  flight. 
The  plan  was  to  take  McCurdy  and  the  aeroplane 
fifty  miles  out  to  sea  on  the  outward  voyage  from 
New  York,  and  then  launch  them  from  the  plat- 
form. 

A  mishap  at  the  last  moment  upset  all  the  well- 
laid  plans.  In  trying  out  the  motor  just  as  the 
Pennsylvania  was  about  to  leave  her  dock  at  Ho- 
boken,  an  oil  can,  carelessly  left  on  one  of  the 
planes  by  a  mechanic,  was  knocked  off  and  fell 
into  the  whirling  propeller.  The  result  was  a 
broken  propeller,  and  as  the  ship  could  not  delay 
its  sailing  long  enough  for  us  to  get  another,  the 
attempt  was  abandoned. 

In  the  meantime,  however,  the  Navy  became  in- 
terested in  the  sea  experiments  and  offered  the 
armoured  cruiser  Birmingham,  then  at  Hampton 
Eoads,  to  be  fitted  up  with  a  similar  platform  for 
launching  an  aeroplane.  This  was  accepted  and 
Eugene  Ely,  who  was  flying  in  a  meet  at  Balti- 
more and  already  in  the  vicinity  of  Norfolk,  took 
his  Curtiss  biplane  over  to  the  Birmingham  for 
the  test,  fired  with  enthusiasm  by  McCurdy 's 
attempt.  On  November  14  the  Birmingham, 
equipped  with  a  platform  for  starting  the  aero- 
plane, awaited  good  weather  for  the  flight.  The 
good  weather  did  not  come  and  after  waiting  im- 
patiently on  board  for  some  time,  Ely  determined 
to  risk  a  start,  even  though  there  was  a  strong 
wind  coming  off  shore  carrying  a  heavy  mist  that 


118     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

made  it  almost  impossible  to  see  more  than  half 
a  mile.  The  ship  was  at  anchor,  but  starting  tip 
his  motor  he  flew  off  with  the  greatest  ease, 
slightly  touching  the  water  with  the  wheels  of  his 
machine,  but  quickly  rising  and  flying  straight  to 
shore,  where  he  landed  without  difficulty. 

This  flight  attracted  world-wide  attention,  es- 
pecially among  the  officers  of  the  navies  of  the 
world.  It  was  the  first  demonstration  of  the 
claims  of  the  aeronautical  enthusiasts  of  the  navy 
that  an  aeroplane  could  be  made  that  would  be 
adaptable  to  the  uses  of  the  service,  and  it  ap- 
peared to  substantiate  some  of  the  things  claimed 
for  it. 

When  I  found  that  business  would  bring  me  to 
California  during  the  winter,  and  probably  would 
keep  me  there  for  several  months,  I  decided  to 
grasp  the  opportunity  to  do  the  development  work 
I  had  long  wanted  to  do,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
request  the  honour  of  instructing  representative 
officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy  in  the  operation  of 
the  aeroplane.  I  believed  the  time  had  arrived 
when  the  Government  would  be  interested  in  any 
phase  of  aviation  that  promised  to  increase  the 
usefulness  of  the  aeroplane  for  military  service. 

So,  on  November  29,  1910, 1  sent  letters  to  both 
Secretary  Dickinson  of  the  "War  Department  and 
to  Secretary  Meyer  of  the  Navy  Department,  in- 
viting them  to  send  one  or  more  officers  of  their 
respective  departments  to  Southern  California, 


BEGINNING  THE  HYDRO  119 

where  I  would  undertake  to  instruct  them  in  avia- 
tion. I  made  no  conditions.  I  asked  for  and  re- 
ceived no  remuneration  whatsoever  for  this  serv- 
ice. I  consider  it  an  honour  to  be  able  to 
tender  my  services  in  this  connection.  Other 
governments  had  already  organised  their  aero- 
nautical military  branches  and  instructed  men  to 
fly,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  our  own  Government 
would  do  likewise  were  the  opportunity  afforded 
the  officers  to  familiarise  themselves  with  the 
aeroplane. 

The  invitations  to  the  War  and  Navy  Depart- 
ments were  written  just  prior  to  my  departure 
for  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  three  weeks  later  I  was 
notified  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  had  ac- 
cepted, and  that  they  would  detail  officers  for  in- 
struction. 

It  began  to  look,  even  to  the  doubters,  as  if  an 
aeroplane  could  be  made  adaptable  to  the  uses 
of  the  Navy,  as  the  aeronautic  enthusiasts  of  the 
service  had  claimed.  The  experiment  begun 
would  have  to  be  completed,  however,  by  flying 
from  shore  to  the  vessel,  and  for  this  opportunity 
we  were  eager.  The  chance  came  when  we  were 
all  at  San  Francisco  and  another  Pennsylvania, 
this  time  the  big  armoured  cruiser,  was  in  the 
bay.  Rear  Admiral  Thomas,  and  Captain  Pond, 
in  command  of  the  Pennsylvania,  readily  con- 
sented to  assist  in  these  further  experiments. 
The  Pennsylvania  went  to  Mare  Island  to  be  out- 


120     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

fitted,  Ely  and  I  going  there  to  tell  the  Navy  offi- 
cials at  the  station  just  what  would  be  required 
for  such  a  hazardous  test. 

The  platform  was  like  that  built  on  the  Bir- 
mingham, but  in  the  case  of  a  flight  to,  instead  of 
from,  a  ship  the  serious  problem  is  to  land  the 
aeroplane  on  the  deck  and  to  stop  it  quickly  be- 
fore it  runs  into  the  masts  of  the  ship,  or  other 
obstructions.  The  platform  was  built  over  the 
quarterdeck,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
feet  long  by  thirty  feet  wide,  with  a  slope  toward 
the  stern  of  some  twelve  feet.  Across  this  run- 
way we  stretched  ropes  every  few  feet  with  a 
sand  bag  on  each  end.  These  ropes  were  raised 
high  enough  so  they  could  catch  in  grab-hooks 
which  we  placed  under  the  main  centrepiece  of  the 
aeroplane,  so  that  catching  in  the  ropes  the  heavy 
sand  bags  attached  would  drag  until  they  brought 
the  machine  to  a  stop. 

To  protect  the  aviator  and  to  catch  him  in  case 
he  should  be  pitched  out  of  his  seat  in  landing, 
heavy  awnings  were  stretched  on  either  side  of 
the  runway  and  at  the  upper  end  of  it. 

When  all  arrangements  had  been  completed, 
and  only  favourable  weather  was  needed  to  carry 
out  the  experiment,  I  was  obliged  to  leave  for  San 
Diego,  and,  therefore,  was  unable  to  witness  the 
flight.  I  regarded  the  thing  as  most  difficult  of 
accomplishment.  Of  course,  I  had  every  faith  in 
Ely  as  an  aviator,  and  knew  that  he  would  arrive 


f 


TWO  FAMOUS   MILITARY  TEST   FLIGHTS 

(A)   Curt Iss  and  hydro  hoisted   on  U.   S.   S.   "Pennsylvania,"  at  San  Diego. 
/    (B)   Ely  leaving  "Pennsylvania,"  San  Francisco  harbor 


BEGINNING  THE  HYDEO  121 

at  the  ship  without  trouble,  but  I  must  confess 
that  I  had  misgivings  about  his  being  able  to  come 
down  on  a  platform  but  four  feet  wider  than  the 
width  of  the  planes  of  the  aeroplane,  and  to  bring 
it  to  a  stop  within  the  hundred  feet  available  for 
the  run. 

Ely  rose  from  the  Presidio  parade  grounds, 
flew  out  over  the  bay,  hovered  above  the  ship  for 
an  instant,  and  then  swooped  down,  cutting  off 
his  power  and  running  lightly  up  the  platform, 
when  the  drag  of  the  sand  bags  brought  him  to  a 
stop  exactly  in  the  centre,  probably  one  of  the 
greatest  feats  in  accurate  landing  ever  performed 
by  an  aviator.  As  I  have  said,  the  platform  was 
only  four  feet  wider  than  the  planes  of  the  Cur- 
tiss  biplane  that  Ely  used,  yet  the  photograph 
taken  from  the  fighting  top  of  the  ship  shows  the1 
machine  touching  the  platform  squarely  in  the 
centre.  When  one  stops  to  think  that  the  aero- 
plane was  travelling  about  forty  miles  an  hour 
when  it  touched  the  deck  and  was  brought  to  a 
stop  within  a  hundred  feet,  the  remarkable  pre- 
cision of  the  aviator  will  be  appreciated. 

Not  only  was  there  not  the  least  mishap  to  him- 
self or  to  the  machine  in  landing,  but  as  soon  as 
he  had  received  a  few  of  the  many  excited  con- 
gratulations awaiting  him,  he  started  off  again 
and  flew  back  the  ten  miles  to  the  camp  of  the 
30th  Infantry  on  the  Aviation  Field,  where  wild 
cheers  greeted  the  man  and  the  machine  that  had 


122     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

for  the  first  time  linked  the  Army  and  the  Navy. 
For  this  is  what,  in  the  wars  of  the  future,  or 
even  in  the  preservation  of  the  future 's  peace,  the 
aeroplane  is  certainly  going  to  do,  joining  as  noth- 
ing else  can  the  two  branches  of  the  service. 

I  don't  think  there  has  ever  been  so  remark- 
able a  landing  made  with  an  aeroplane  as  Ely's, 
and  probably  never  so  much  store  put  by  the  mere 
act  of  coming  down  in  the  right  place.  A  few 
feet  either  way,  a  sudden  puff  of  wind  to  lift  the 
aeroplane  when  it  should  descend,  or  any  one  of 
a  dozen  other  things,  might  have  spelled  disaster 
for  the  whole  undertaking,  deprived  the  daring 
aviator  of  a  well  earned  success,  and  the  world 
of  a  remarkable  spectacular  demonstration  of 
practical  aviation. 

On  the  day  of  the  test  I  was  in  San  Diego  and 
awaited  news  from  San  Francisco  with  a  good 
deal  of  impatience.  When  at  last  the  Associated 
Press  bulletin  announced  that  Ely  had  landed 
without  mishap  I  first  felt  a  great  relief  that 
there  had  been  no  accident  to  mar  the  success  of 
the  thing,  and  then  a  sense  of  elation  that  we  had 
taken  another  long  step  in  the  advancement  of 
aviation. 

Early  in  January  I  went  to  Southern  Califor- 
nia to  establish  an  experimental  station,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  instruct  the  officers  of  the  Army 
and  Navy  whom  I  had  invited  the  War  and  Navy 
Departments  to  assign  for  that  purpose.  A  part 


BEGINNING  THE  HYDBO  123 

of  our  experiments  were  along  the  line  of  a  new 
i  t  amphibious ' '  machine  that  had  been  on  my  mind 
ever  since  my  first  experiments  in  Hammonds- 
port. 

I  believed  that  with  the  proper  equipment  for 
floating  and  attaining  a  high  speed  on  the  water, 
an  aeroplane  could  be  made  to  rise  as  easily  as 
it  could  from  the  land.1  I  had  carried  these  ex- 
periments just  far  enough  in  Hammondsport  to 
convince  me  that  the  thing  was  feasible,  when  I  was 
obliged  to  discontinue  them  to  take  up  other  busi- 
ness. I  knew  it  would  be  safer  to  land  on  the 
water  than  on  land  with  the  proper  appliances, 
and  that  it  would  be  easier  to  find  a  suitable  land- 
ing place  on  water,  for  the  reason  that  it  always 

i  NOTE  BY  AUGUSTUS  POST 

An  interesting  story  is  told  of  how  the  hydroaeroplane  came 
to  be  invented. 

During  the  period  when  he  was  planning  a  new  series  of  ex- 
periments, Mr.  Curtiss,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Curtiss,  attended 
a  New  York  theatre  in  which  there  was  being  presented  a  play 
much  talked  about  just  then.  The  curtain  went  up  on  the  first 
act,  and  the  noted  aviator  was  apparently  enjoying  the  show 
when,  just  as  the  scene  was  developing  one  of  its  most  inter- 
esting climaxes,  he  turned  to  Mrs.  Curtiss  and  said:  "I've  got 
it."  On  the  theatre  program  he  had  sketched  what  ultimately 
became  the  design  of  the  hydroaeroplane. 

This  is  like  a  time  when  Mr.  Curtiss  was  standing  one  day 
by  the  side  of  one  of  his  motorcycles  talking  with  a  customer. 
He  kept  turning  one  of  the  grips  of  the  handle-bar  with  his 
fingers  while  talking  and  after  finishing  the  conversation  went 
into  his  office  and  developed  the  idea  of  a  handle-control  which 
had  come  to  him  while  apparently  absorbed  in  conversation. — 
A.  P. 


124     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

affords  an  open  space,  while  it  is  often  difficult  to 
pick  a  landing  place  on  the  land.  So,  when  I 
made  preparations  for  my  flight  from  Albany  to 
New  York  City,  I  fitted  pontoons  beneath  the 
chassis  of  my  machine  and  a  hydro-snrf  ace  under 
the  front  wheel.  I  wanted  to  be  prepared  for 
alighting  on  the  water  should  anything  go  amiss. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  river  course  was  the  only 
feasible  one  for  this  flight,  as  there  were  moun- 
tains and  hills  for  almost  the  entire  distance. 

It  was  while  on  that  trip  that  I  decided  to  build 
an  aeroplane  that  would  be  available  for  starting 
or  landing  on  the  water.  I  don't  know  that  I  had 
the  idea  of  its  military  value  when  I  first  planned 
it;  but  it  came  to  me  later  that  such  a  machine 
would  be  of  great  service  should  the  Navy  adopt 
the  aeroplane  as  a  part  of  its  equipment.  I 
thought  the  next  step  from  pontoons,  to  float  an 
aeroplane  safely  on  the  water,  would  be  a  perma- 
nent boat  so  shaped  that  it  could  get  up  speed 
enough  so  the  whole  machine  could  rise  clear  of 
the  water  and  fly  in  the  air. 

It  was  important  to  find  a  location  where  it 
would  be  possible  to  work  along  the  lines  I  had 
mapped  out — a  place  where  I  might  be  free  from 
the  pressing  calls  of  business  and  the  hampering 
influence  of  uncertain  climatic  conditions.  In 
short  I  wanted  a  place  with  the  best  climate  to 
be  found  in  this  country,  with  a  field  large  enough 
and  level  enough  for  practice  land  flights  by  be- 


BEGINNING  THE  HYDBO  125 

ginners,  and  with  a  convenient  body  of  smooth 
water  for  experiments  with  a  machine  that  would 
start  from  or  land  upon  water. 

Above  all,  I  wanted  a  place  not  easy  of  access 
to  the  curious  crowds  that  gather  wherever  there 
is  anything  novel  to  be  attempted;  for  a  flying 
machine  never  loses  its  attraction  to  the  curious. 
Mankind  has  been  looking  for  it  ever  since  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  and  now  that  it  is  actually 
here  he  can't  get  away  from  it,  once  it  is  in  sight. 
A  machine  that  has  actually  carried  a  man 
through  the  air  takes  on  a  sort  of  individuality 
all  its  own  that  acts  as  a  magnet  for  the  inquiring 
mind.  Once  people  have  really  seen  an  aero- 
plane fly,  they  want  to  know  what  makes  it  fly 
and  to  come  into  personal  contact  with  the  ma- 
chine and  the  man  who  operates  it. 

San  Diego  was  brought  to  my  attention  as  af- 
fording every  advantage  for  experimental  work 
in  aviation.  A  study  of  the  weather  bureau  rec- 
ords here  showed  a  minimum  of  wind  and  a  max- 
imum of  sunshine  the  year  round.  I  visited  that 
city  in  January,  1911,  and  after  a  thorough  inspec- 
tion of  the  grounds  offered  as  an  aviation  field, 
decided  to  make  that  city  the  headquarters  for 
the  winter  and  to  carry  on  the  experimental  and 
instructional  work  there. 

North  Island,  lying  in  San  Diego  Bay,  a  mile 
across  from  the  city,  was  turned  over  to  me  by 
its  owners,  the  Spreckels  Company.  It  is  a  flat, 


126     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

sandy  island,  about  four  miles  long  and  two  miles 
wide,  with  a  number  of  good  fields  for  land  flights. 
The  beaches  on  both  the  ocean  and  bay  sides  are 
good,  affording  level  stretches  for  starting  or 
landing  an  aeroplane.  Besides,  the  beaches  were 
necessary  to  the  water  experiments  I  wished  to 
make.  North  Island  is  uninhabited  except  by 
hundreds  of  jack  rabbits,  cottontails,  snipe,  and 
quail.  It  joins  Coronado  Island  by  a  narrow 
sand  spit  on  the  south  side,  which  is  often  washed 
by  the  high  tides.  Otherwise  the  two  islands 
are  separated  by  a  strip  of  shallow  water  a  mile 
long  and  a  couple  of  hundred  yards  wide,  called 
Spanish  Bight.  Thus  the  island  on  which  we 
were  to  do  our  experimenting  and  training  was  ac- 
cessible only  by  boat  and  it  was  a  comparatively 
easy  matter  to  exclude  the  curious  visitor  when- 
ever we  desired  to  do  so.  There  was  no  particu- 
lar reason  for  excluding  the  public  other  than  the 
desire  to  work  unhampered  by  crowds,  which  is 
always  a  distracting  influence. 

In  the  meantime  Lieutenant  Theodore  GL  Elly- 
son  of  the  submarine  service,  then  stationed  at 
Newport  News,  Virginia,  had  been  detailed  by  the 
Navy  Department  to  report  to  me  in  California 
for  instruction  in  aviation.  He  had  joined  me  in 
Los  Angeles,  where,  though  there  are  all  the 
climatic  requirements,  and  good  fields  for  prac- 
tice flights,  the  ideal  body  of  smooth  water  for 
experiments  on  that  element  was  lacking.  The 


BEGINNING  THE  HYDRO  127 

War  Department  responded  later,  instructing 
General  Bliss,  commanding  the  Department  of 
California  at  San  Francisco,  to  detail  as  many 
officers  as  could  be  spared  to  go  to  San  Diego  for 
instruction  in  the  art  of  flying. 

There  was  much  eagerness  among  the  officers 
of  the  Department  of  California  and  I  was  in- 
formed that  some  thirty  applications  were  made 
for  the  detail.  Lieutenant  (now  Captain)  Paul 
W.  Beck,  of  the  Signal  Corps,  located  at  the  Pre- 
sidio, San  Francisco,  and  Lieutenant  John  C. 
Walker,  Jr.,  of  the  8th  Infantry,  Monterey,  Cal., 
were  named  at  once,  and  later  Lieutenant  C.  E. 
M.  Kelly,  30th  Infantry,  San  Francisco,  was 
added  to  the  Army's  representation.  This  made 
a  list  of  four  officers,  three  from  the  Army  and 
one  from  the  Navy,  and  with  these  I  began  work. 
In  February,  however,  the  Navy  Department  des- 
ignated Ensign  Charles  Pousland  of  the  destroyer 
Preble,  at  San  Diego,  to  join  Lieutenant  Ellyson 
as  a  Navy  pupil  in  aviation. 

There  are  a  dozen  good  landing  or  starting 
fields  on  North  Island,  but  we  chose  the  one  on 
the  south  side,  which  gave  us  easy  access  to  the 
smooth  shallow  water  of  Spanish  Bight.  A  field 
was  cleared  of  weeds  and  sagebrush,  half  a  mile 
long  by  three  or  four  hundred  yards  wide.  Sheds 
to  house  the  machines  were  built  by  the  Aero 
Club  of  San  Diego,  and  landings  put  in  for  the 
small  boats  that  carried  us  to  and  from  the  city. 


128     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

The  Spreckels  Company  gave  us  every  assistance 
in  fitting  the  place  up,  and  the  people  of  San  Di- 
ego, anxious  to  make  the  island  the  permanent 
home  of  an  aviation  experimental  station  and 
school,  were  prompt  to  lend  a  hand  and  to  im- 
press upon  us  the  climatic  advantages  of  their 
city. 

I  have  asked  Lieutenant  Ellyson  to  write  his 
own  story  of  the  work  on  North  Island,  and  it  is 
to  be  found  in  another  part  of  this  book. 


CHAPTEE  V 

DEVELOPING  THE  HYDROAEROPLANE  AT  SAN  DIEGO— 
THE  HYDRO  OF  THE  SUMMER  OF  1912 

JANUAEY  had  nearly  passed  before  the  first 
machine  was  ready.  Although  this  proved 
unsuccessful,  I  was  not  discouraged  and  learned 
a  good  deal  about  what  sort  of  a  float  was  neces- 
sary to  support  the  aeroplane  and  how  it  acted 
when  under  way  over  the  water.  Nearly  every 
day  for  over  two  weeks  we  dragged  the  machine 
down  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  launched  it  on  the 
smooth  surface  of  San  Diego  Bay,  and  drew  it 
out  again  after  testing  out  some  new  arrangement 
of  floats  and  surfaces.  We  kept  it  in  a  hangar, 
or  shed,  on  the  beach,  and  there  we  would  sit  and 
study  and  change  and  plan  how  to  improve  the 
float. 

We  were  in  the  water  almost  all  day  long;  no 
thought  was  given  to  wet  clothing  and  cold  feet. 
We  virtually  lived  in  our  bathing  suits.  The 
warm  climate  aided  us,  but  there  were  some  chilly 
days.  Discomfort  and  failure  did  not  deter  the 
Army  and  Navy  officers,  who  watched  and  worked 
like  beavers,  half  in  and  half  out  of  the  water. 

On  the  26th  of  January  the  first  success  came. 
That  day  the  aeroplane  first  rose  from  the  water 

129 


130     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

and  succeeded  in  alighting  gently  and  without  ac- 
cident after  the  flight.  A  page  was  added  to 
aviation  history,  which  extended  its  domain  and 
opened  the  lakes,  rivers,  and  seas  to  the  hitherto 
land-locked  flying  machine.  It  was  no  more  a  land 
bird,  but  a  water  fowl  as  well. 

The  machine  was  crude,  and  there  remained 
many  things  to  be  improved,  but  the  principle  was 
correct.  We  kept  adjusting  the  equipment,  add- 
ing things  and  taking  them  off  again  to  make  some 
improvement;  perhaps  the  float  was  too  heavy, 
or  leaked,  or  the  spray  would  fly  up  and  chips 
would  be  knocked  out  of  the  whirling  propeller, 
which  the  drops  of  water  would  strike  like  shot 
out  of  a  gun.  The  least  projection  on  the  floats 
would  send  up  spray  while  travelling  at  such  high 
speed  as  was  made  through  the  water.  The  bal- 
ance of  the  machine  was  as  troublesome  as  any- 
thing, because  the  push  of  the  propeller  would 
give  it  a  tendency  to  dive  if  the  floats  were  not 
properly  adjusted. 

When  we  brought  the  machine  out  on  the  26th 
day  of  January  I  felt  that  we  ought  to  get  some 
results.  There  were  no  crowds  of  people  present 
and  there  was  no  announcement  of  what  was 
about  to  happen.  I  had  not  expected  to  make  a 
flight,  but  climbed  into  the  aviator's  seat  with  a 
feeling  that  the  machine  would  surely  rise  into 
the  air  when  I  wished,  but  that  I  would  only  try 
it  on  the  water  to  see  how  the  new  float  acted. 


DEVELOPING  THE  HYDKO          131 

Lieutenant  Ellyson  spun  the  propeller  and  I 
turned  the  machine  into  the  wind.  It  ploughed 
through  the  water  deeply  at  first,  but  gathered 
speed  and  rose  higher  and  higher  in  the  water 
and  skipped  more  and  more  lightly  until  the  float 
barely  skimmed  the  surface  of  the  bay.  So  intent 
was  I  in  watching  the  water  that  I  did  not  notice 
that  I  was  approaching  the  shore  and  to  avoid 
running  aground  I  tilted  the  horizontal  control 
and  the  machine  seemed  to  leap  into  the  air  like 
a  frightened  gull.  So  suddenly  did  it  rise  that  it 
quite  took  me  by  surprise. 

But  I  kept  the  machine  up  for  perhaps  half  a 
mile,  then  turned  and  dropped  lightly  down  on 
the  water,  turned  around  and  headed  back  to  the 
starting  point.  The  effect  of  that  first  flight  on 
the  men  who  had  worked,  waited,  and  watched  for 
it  was  magical.  They  ran  up  and  down  the  beach, 
throwing  their  hats  up  into  the  air  and  shouting 
in  their  enthusiasm. 

I  now  headed  about  into  the  bay,  in  the  direction 
of  San  Diego,  and  rose  up  into  the  air  again  even 
more  easily  than  the  first  time.  I  flew  for  half 
a  mile  and  turned  twice  to  see  how  the  machine 
would  act  in  the  air  with  the  clumsy-looking  float 
below  it.  The  naval  repair  ship  Iris  caught  sight 
of  me  as  I  went  flying  by  and  sent  its  siren  blast 
far  out  over  the  water,  and  all  the  other  craft  blew 
their  whistles,  until  it  seemed  as  if  all  San  Diego 
knew  of  the  achievement.  Satisfied  that  it  was 


132     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

all  right,  I  landed  within  a  few  yards  of  the  shore, 
near  the  hangar. 

We  made  flights  nearly  every  day  after  this, 
taking  the  Army  and  Navy  officers  as  passengers. 
I  found  the  machine  well  adapted  for  passenger 
work  and  it  became  very  popular.  While  experi- 
menting we  kept  changing  things  from  day  to 
day,  adding  and  taking  off,  lightening  the  machine, 
or  adding  more  surface.  We  tried  putting  on  an 
extra  surface,  making  a  triplane,  and  got  remark- 
able lifting  power.  We  changed  the  floats  and 
finally  made  one  long,  flat-bottomed,  scow-shaped 
float,  twelve  feet  long,  two  feet  wide,  and  twelve 
inches  deep.  It  was  made  of  wood,  the  bow  being 
curved  upward  the  full  width  of  the  boat  and  at 
the  stern  being  curved  downward  in  a  similar 
manner.  This  single  float  was  placed  under  the 
aeroplane  so  that  the  weight  was  slightly  to  the 
rear  of  the  centre  of  the  float,  causing  it  to  slant 
upward,  giving  it  the  necessary  angle  for  hydro- 
planing on  the  surface  of  the  water. 

I  will  confess  that  I  got  more  pleasure  out  of 
flying  the  new  machine  over  water  than  I  ever  got 
flying  over  land,  and  the  danger,  too,  was  greatly 
lessened. 

I  then  decided  upon  a  test  which  I  had  been  in- 
formed the  Navy  regarded  as  very  important. 
In  fact,  I  had  been  told  that  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  regarded  the  adaptability  of  the  aeroplane 
to  navy  uses  as  depending  very  largely  on  its 


DEVELOPING  THE  HYDEO          133 

ability  to  alight  on  the  water  and  be  hoisted 
aboard  a  warship.  With  the  hydroaeroplane  I 
had  developed,  I  had  no  doubts  about  being  able 
to  do  this,  without  any  platform  or  preparation 
on  board  the  vessel. 

So,  on  February  17,  at  San  Diego,  I  sent  word 
over  to  Captain  Charles  F.  Pond,  commanding  the 
armoured  cruiser  Pennsylvania,  then  in  the  har- 
bour, that  I  would  be  pleased  to  fly  over  and  be 
hoisted  aboard  whenever  it  was  convenient  to  him. 
He  replied  immediately,  "come  on  over."  The 
Pennsylvania  is  the  ship  that  Ely  landed  on  at 
San  Francisco  in  his  memorable  flight,  and  it  was 
Captain  Pond  who  at  that  time  gave  over  his  ship 
and  lent  every  assistance  in  his  power  to  make 
the  experiment  the  success  it  was.  He  lent  his 
aid  to  this  second  experiment  as  willingly  as  he 
did  to  the  first. 

There  were  no  special  arrangements  necessary 
for  this  test.  All  that  would  be  needed  to  get 
the  aeroplane  and  its  operator  on  board  would 
be  to  use  one  of  the  big  hoisting  cranes,  just  as 
they  are  used  for  handling  the  ship's  launches. 

The  hydroaeroplane  was  launched  on  Spanish 
Bight,  and  in  five  minutes  I  was  on  the  way. 
The  machine  skimmed  over  the  water  for  a  hun- 
dred yards  and  then  rose  into  the  air.  In  two 
or  three  minutes  I  was  alongside  the  cruiser,  just 
off  the  starboard  quarter.  There  was  a  strong 
tide  running  and  when  I  shut  off  the  propeller 


134     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

the  aeroplane  drifted  until  a  rope  thrown  from 
the  ship  was  made  fast  to  one  of  the  planes  by 
Lieutenant  Ellyson  of  the  Navy.  It  was  drawn 
in  close  to  the  side  of  the  ship,  where  a  boat  crane 
was  lowered  and  I  hooked  it  in  a  wire  sling  at- 
tached to  the  top  of  the  planes.  I  then  climbed 
up  on  top  of  the  aeroplane  and  slipped  my  leg 
through  the  big  hook  of  the  crane,  not  caring  to 
trust  too  much  weight  to  the  untested  sling. 

In  five  minutes  from  the  time  I  landed  on  the 
water  alongside  the  ship,  the  hydroaeroplane  re- 
posed easily  on  the  superstructure  deck  of  the  big 
cruiser,  just  forward  of  the  boat  crane.  It  had 
been  the  easiest  sort  of  work  to  land  it  there,  and 
thus  one  more  of  the  problems  that  stood  in  the 
way  of  a  successful  naval  aeroplane  was  over- 
come. 

The  rest  of  the  experiment  was  performed  with 
equal  promptness  and  ease.  After  a  stay  of  ten 
minutes  on  the  cruiser,  the  aeroplane  was  dropped 
overboard  by  the  big  boat  crane,  the  propeller  was 
cranked  by  one  of  the  military  pupils  in  aviation, 
and  I  got  under  way  for  the  return  trip  to  the 
island.  Two  minutes  later  I  brought  the  hydro- 
aeroplane to  a  stop  a  few  yards  away  from  the 
hangar  on  the  beach.  The  entire  time  taken  from 
the  moment  I  left  North  Island  for  the  cruiser  to 
the  moment  I  landed  on  the  water  at  the  hangar 
on  my  return  was  less  than  half  an  hour,  and  yet 
within  this  brief  space  had  been  written  one  of 


DEVELOPING  THE  HYDEO          135 

the  most  interesting  chapters  in  the  history  of 
naval  aviation. 

I  regard  this  experiment  as  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting, from  my  idea  of  a  military  experiment, 
that  had  been  attempted  up  to  that  time,  for  the 
reason  that  no  special  equipment  was  needed  on 
board  the  ship.  Obviously  the  objections  to  the 
landing  of  an  aeroplane  on  deck  from  a  flight  had 
to  be  overcome,  and  this  could  be  done  with  a  ma- 
chine that  could  land  on  the  water  and  be  picked 
up.  For  a  flight  from  the  ship,  all  that  was  neces- 
sary was  to  drop  it  over  the  side  and  watch  it  rise 
from  the  water  into  the  air.  Such  a  machine 
could  be  "knocked  down"  and  stored  in  a  very 
small  space  when  not  in  use;  and  when  wanted 
for  a  flight,  it  could  be  brought  out  and  set  up  in 
a  short  time  on  deck. 

An  aeroplane  sent  from  a  scout  ship  on  a  scout- 
ing flight  must,  to  be  efficient,  be  able  to  carry  a 
passenger,  especially  if  it  be  sent  for  any  purpose 
other  than  as  a  messenger,  where  speed  would  be 
the  first  consideration.  But  if  sent  to  seek  infor- 
mation as  to  an  enemy's  position,  to  take  observa- 
tions and  make  maps  of  the  surrounding  country, 
or  with  any  of  a  dozen  other  objects  in  view  where 
a  trained  observer  would  be  necessary,  it  seems  to 
me  it  should  be  equipped  to  carry  at  least  two,  and 
possibly  three,  persons — the  aviator  and  two  pas- 
sengers. There  were  many  machines  capable  of 
carrying  one  or  more  passengers  on  land  flights, 


136     THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

so  I  set  about  equipping  one  to  carry  passengers 
on  water  flights. 

This  I  first  succeeded  in  doing  on  February  23, 
when  I  took  up  Lieutenant  T.  G.  Ellyson  of  the 
Navy,  in  the  hydroaeroplane.  We  rose  from  the 
water  without  difficulty,  flew  over  San  Diego  Bay 
and  returning,  alighted  on  the  water  with  perfect 
ease. 

This  was  all  very  well  and  good  where  a  flight 
was  to  be  made  from  the  water  and  back  to  the 
water;  but  I  believed  we  should  go  further  and 
provide  a  machine  that  would  be  able  to  go  from 
one  to  the  other — from  water  to  land  and  land 
back  to  water — before  it  could  be  said  that  all  the 
difficulties  of  making  the  aeroplane  adaptable  to 
both  Army  and  Navy  uses  had  been  overcome. 
This  was  of  comparatively  easy  accomplishment, 
and  on  Sunday,  February  26,  I  made  the  first 
flight  from  water  to  land  and  from  land  back  to 
water.  Starting  from  North  Island,  on  the  wa- 
ters of  Spanish  Bight,  I  flew  out  over  the  ocean 
and  down  the  beach  to  a  point  near  Coronado  Ho- 
tel, where  I  came  down  on  the  smooth  sand  of  the 
beach.  Eeturning,  the  machine  started  from  the 
beach  and  came  back  to  the  water  on  Spanish 
Bight  whence  I  had  started. 

With  these  achievements  it  seems  to  me  the  aer- 
oplane has  reached  the  point  of  utility  for  mili- 
tary purposes — either  for  the  Army  or  Navy.  It 
now  seems  possible  to  use  it  to  establish  commu- 


DEVELOPING  THE  HYDBO          137 

nication  between  the  Navy  and  Army,  when  there 
are  no  other  means  of  communication.  That  is, 
a  warship  could  launch  an  aeroplane  that  can  fly 
over  sea  and  land  and  come  to  earth  on  whichever 
element  affords  the  best  landing.  Having  ful- 
filled its  mission  on  shore  it  could  start  from 
the  land,  and,  returning  to  the  home  ship,  land 
at  its  side  and  be  picked  up,  as  I  was  picked 
up  and  hoisted  aboard  the  Pennsylvania  at  San 
Diego. 

Here  let  me  call  attention  to  the  splendid  field 
that  California  offers  for  the  development  of  avi- 
ation, with  its  climate,  permitting  aviation  to  be 
pursued  all  the  year,  and  its  large  winter  tourist 
population  with  wealth  and  leisure  to  devote  to 
furthering  the  art  of  flight.  In  California  even 
the  legislature  recognises  the  increasing  popu- 
larity of  flying,  and  it  has  given  careful  attention 
to  the  formation  of  laws  to  protect  the  aeroplane 
and  the  aviator. 

There  remained  one  thing  further  to  accomplish 
complete  success  with  the  hydroaeroplane,  and 
that  was  to  devise  a  method  of  successfully  launch- 
ing the  machine  from  a  ship  without  touching  the 
water  and  without  resorting  to  any  cumbersome 
platform  or  any  other  launching  apparatus  that 
would  interfere  with  the  ship 's  ordinary  working. 
To  accomplish  this  would  solve  the  principal  ob- 
stacle that  stood  in  the  way  of  using  the  hydro- 
aeroplane at  sea. 


138     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Lieutenant  Theodore  G.  Ellyson,  of  the  United 
States  Navy,  had  been  working  out  a  plan  for 
doing  this  and  it  was  not  until  September,  1911, 
that  the  experiment  was  finally  completed  at 
Hammondsport,  where  operations  were  continued 
after  breaking  up  the  camp  at  San  Diego,  late  in 
the  spring. 

A  platform  sixteen  feet  high  was  erected  on 
the  shore  of  Lake  Keuka  and  a  wire  cable  two 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  was  stretched  from 
the  platform  to  a  spile  under  water  out  in  the 
lake.  The  hydroaeroplane  was  set  on  this  wire 
cable  near  the  platform  on  which  the  men  stood 
to  start  the  propeller.  A  groove  was  made  along 
the  bottom  of  the  boat  in  which  the  cable  fitted 
loosely,  to  guide  it  as  it  slid  down,  until  sufficient 
headway  was  obtained  to  enable  the  wings  of  the 
aeroplane  to  support  the  weight  of  the  machine. 
A  trial  of  this  method  of  launching  was  entirely 
successful.  The  machine  started  down  the  cable 
gathering  headway  and  we  all  watched  it  grace- 
fully rise  into  the  air  and  fly  out  over  the  lake. 
This  launching  from  a  wire -is  the  last  step  in  the 
development  of  handling  the  aeroplane  and  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  foresee  all  the  many  important 
applications  which  will  be  made  in  the  future  of 
this  type  of  machine,  since  a  cable  can  be  easily 
stretched  from  the  bow  of  any  vessel,  which  can 
then  steam  into  the  wind,  easily  enabling  an  aero- 
plane to  be  launched  in  almost  any  weather,  while 


DEVELOPING  THE  HYDEO          139 

it  can  without  difficulty  land  under  the  lea  of  the 
vessel  and  be  hoisted  on  board  again. 

As  the  wireless  has  almost  revolutionised  ocean 
navigation  by  furnishing  a  means  of  constant 
communication  between  steamers,  perhaps  the 
hydroaeroplane  will  be  able  to  bring  passengers 
back  to  shore  or  take  them  from  shore  to  a  ship 
on  the  high  sea,  or  enable  visits  to  be  made  be- 
tween ships  that  pass  on  the  ocean.  Great,  pow- 
erful hydroaeroplanes  may  be  able  to  cross  the 
ocean  itself  at  high  speed,  and  they  will  no  doubt 
add  greatly  to  the  safety  of  ocean  travel,  as  well 
as  furnish  the  Navy  with  an  arm  of  destruction 
much  more  far-reaching  than  its  most  effective 
guns  or  torpedoes. 

Frank  Coffyn  in  May,  1912,  took  a  belated 
passenger  from  the  Battery,  New  York  City,  out 
to  a  steamer  as  it  was  steaming  out  of  the  lower 
bay  and  landed  him  safely  aboard — a  hint  of 
future  possibilities. 

We  had  a  curious  opportunity  to  prove  how 
the  hydroaeroplane  can  be  an  arm  of  preservation 
as  well  as  destruction,  when  at  the  Chicago  meet 
of  1911.  Simon,  dashing  over  the  lake,  dropped 
in  his  machine.  Hugh  Eobinson  had  been  putting 
a  hydroaeroplane  through  its  evolutions,  to  the 
great  interest  of  the  crowd,  who  evidently 
thought  it  a  sort  of  freak  machine,  but  when  Si- 
mon fell  Eobinson  was  after  him  instantly,  and 
for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  world,  a 


140     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

man  flew  through  the  air  from  dry  land,  alighted 
on  the  water  beside  a  man  in  distress,  and  before 
anything  else  could  get  there,  invited  him  to  fly 
back  to  shore  with  him.  As  there  were  boats 
close  at  hand,  the  offer  was  not  needed,  but  the 
value  of  the  land-air-water  machine  had  been 
proved,  for  it  had  left  its  hangar  and  flown  a  mile 
from  shore  in  a  little  more  than  a  minute. 

The  hydroaeroplane  can  already  fly  sixty  miles 
an  hour,  skim  the  water  at  fifty  miles,  and  run 
over  the  earth  at  thirty-five  miles.  Driven  over 
the  surface  of  the  water  the  new  machine  can 
pass  the  fastest  motor  boat  ever  built  and  will  re- 
spond to  its  rudder  more  quickly  than  any  water 
craft  afloat.  Its  appeal  will  be  as  strong  to  the 
aquatic  as  to  the  aerial  enthusiast. 

Flying  an  aeroplane  is  thrilling  sport,  but  fly- 
ing a  hydroaeroplane  is  something  to  arouse  the 
jaded  senses  of  the  most  blase.  It  fascinates,  ex- 
hilarates, vivifies.  It  is  like  a  yacht  with  hori- 
zontal sails  that  support  it  on  the  breezes.  To 
see  it  skim  the  water  like  a  swooping  gull  and 
then  rise  into  the  air,  circle  and  soar  to  great 
heights,  and  finally  drop  gracefully  down  upon 
the  water  again,  furnishes  a  thrill  and  inspires  a 
wonder  that  does  not  come  with  any  other  sport 
on  earth. 

The  hydroaeroplane  is  safer  than  the  ordinary 
aeroplane,  and  for  this  reason  is  bound  to  become 
the  most  popular  of  aerial  craft.  The  begin- 


DEVELOPING  THE  HYDEO          141 

ner  can  take  it  out  on  his  neighboring  lake  or 
river,  or  even  the  great  bays,  and  skim  it  over  the 
water  until  he  is  sure  of  himself  and  sure  that  he 
can  control  it  in  the  air.  He  can  fly  it  six  feet 
above  the  water  for  any  distance,  with  the  feeling 
that  even  if  something  should  happen  to  cause  a 
fall,  he  will  not  be  dashed  to  pieces.  The  worst 
he  will  get  is  a  cold  bath. 

The  hydroaeroplane  may  compete  with  motor 
boats  as  a  water  craft,  or  in  the  air  with  the  fast- 
est aeroplane.  It  can  start  from  the  land  on  its 
wheels,  but  launch  itself  on  the  water  where  there 
is  lack  of  room  for  rising  from  the  land. 

Its  double  qualities  as  a  water  and  air  craft 
make  possible  flights  that  could  not  be  attempted 
with  the  aeroplane. 

At  Cedar  Point,  Ohio,  I  had  to  fly  the  new  ma- 
chine when  a  strong  gale  was  blowing  across  Lake 
Erie,  kicking  up  a  heavy  surf.  However,  I  deter- 
mined to  make  the  attempt  under  what  were  ex- 
tremely trying  conditions,  and  so  started  it  on 
the  beach  and  under  the  power  of  the  aerial  pro- 
peller, launched  it  through  a  heavy  surf. 

Beyond  the  surf  I  found  very  rough  water,  but 
turning  the  machine  into  the  wind,  I  arose  from 
the  water  without  the  least  difficulty,  and  circled 
and  soared  over  the  lake  for  fifteen  minutes.  I 
landed  without  trouble  on  the  choppy  water  a  few 
hundred  yards  off  shore,  and  after  guiding  the 
hydroaeroplane  up  and  down  the  beach  for  the 


142     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

inspection  of  the  great  crowd,  made  a  second  flight 
of  ten  minutes'  duration,  and  landed  safely  upon 
the  sandy  beach.  That  was  the  hardest  test  I 
have  ever  given  the  hydroaeroplane,  and  I  think 
a  very  severe  one.  I  am  satisfied  that  it  can  he 
used  in  more  than  ordinarily  rough  water,  if  it 
is  properly  handled. 

There  is  no  question  that  in  this  particular  line 
of  aeronautics,  America  is  now  leading  the  world ; 
but  the  hydroaeroplane  contests  recently  held  at 
Monte  Carlo  and  the  experiments  made  in  France 
by  the  Voisin  Brothers'  " Canard,"  which  was 
erroneously  hailed  by  the  French  press  as  being 
the  first  occasion  when  a  machine  had  risen  from 
the  water  with  two  men,  show  that  the  French 
are  not  far  behind  us. 

Other  experiments  have  been  made  in  Europe 
by  Fabre,  who  was  the  first  to  achieve  any  degree 
of  success  in  this  line,  and  by  the  Duf  aux  Brothers 
on  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
flights  made  by  Herbster,  the  old  Farman  pilot, 
on  an  Astra- Wright  at  Lucerne,  and  if  the  Ameri- 
can aeronautic  industry  does  not  awaken  to  the 
immediate  possibilities  along  this  line,  it  will  once 
more  be  overtaken  by  Europeans. 

There  are  thousands  of  men  throughout  the 
country  who  would  gladly  take  up  a  new  mechan- 
ical sport  as  a  successor  to  motor  boating  and 
motoring  if  they  felt  they  could  do  so  with  a  rea- 


DEVELOPING  THE  HYDRO          143 

sonable  degree  of  safety  to  themselves,  and  ade- 
quate assurance  that  the  life  of  their  machine 
would  be  commensurate  to  the  price  paid  for  it. 

Followers  of  the  sport  of  motor  boating,  which 
has  made  thousands  of  converts  during  the  past 
few  years,  are  already  turning  to  the  hydroplane, 
which  skims  over  the  water  at  much  greater  speed 
and  less  power.  The  next  step  will  be  the  hydro- 
aeroplane, which  can  skim  over  the  water  in  ex- 
actly the  same  way  and  has  the  further  enormous 
advantage  of  rising  into  the  air  whenever  the 
driver  so  desires.  The  sport  should  develop  rap- 
idly next  summer  and  be  in  full  swing  in  a  few 
years.  Several  improvements  of  detail  will  have 
to  be  made.  Ways  of  housing  the  craft — of  stop- 
ping the  engine — of  muffling  the  roar  of  the  motor, 
will  be  devised ;  while  more  comfort  for  the  pilot 
and  passengers  will  be  arranged. 

If  a  cross-country  flight  is  too  dangerous  to  at- 
tempt because  of  the  rough  character  of  the  land, 
the  hydroaeroplane  can  follow  a  river  course  with 
perfect  safety.  Or,  if  there  is  no  water  course 
and  the  country  is  level,  it  can  take  the  land 
course  with  equal  safety. 

In  short,  it  matters  little  whether  an  aerial 
course  takes  one  over  land  or  water,  the  hydro- 
aeroplane is  the  safest  machine  for  flight.  With 
the  "Triad,"  as  we  called  the  machine  from  its 
triple  field — air,  land,  and  water — the  Great 


144     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Lakes  offer  no  impassable  obstacle  to  a  long  flight, 
and  it  is  within  the  vision  of  him  who  watches  the 
trend  of  things,  that  an  over-sea  flight  is  not  far 
in  the  future. 


NOTE  BY  AUGUSTUS  POST 

THE    " FLYING  BOAT" 

At  San  Diego,  on  Jan.  10,  1912,  a  new  type  of 
Curtiss  hydroaeroplane,  or  " flying  boat,"  was 
given  its  first  trial  on  the  bay.  It  had  been  de- 
signed and  constructed  under  strict  secrecy  at 
Hammondsport.  The  public  knew  nothing  as  to 
the  details  of  this  craft  until  it  was  taken  out  on 
the  bay  in  order  to  test  its  balance  and  speed  on 
the  water. 

This  craft,  which  was  equipped  to  carry  a  pas- 
senger, was  driven  by  a  sixty  horse-power  motor. 
In  contact  with  the  water,  it  went  at  over  fifty 
miles  an  hour ;  and  lifted  off  the  water,  it  travelled 
at  more  than  sixty  miles  an  hour  in  the  air.  It 
differs  in  many  respects  from  the  hydroaeroplane 
now  in  use  by  the  United  States  Navy  officers 
who,  by  the  way,  were  present  and  witnessed  the 
test.  There  were  two  propellers  instead  of  one 
and  these  were  driven  by  clutch  and  chain  trans- 
mission. They  were  really  "tractors,"  being  in 
front  of  the  planes;  the  motor  had  a  new  auto- 
matic starter,  and  there  was  also  a  fuel  gauge  and 


DEVELOPING  THE  HYDEO          145 

bilge  pump.     The  transmission    has  since  been 
changed  to  direct  drive. 

The  boat,  or  hydro  equipment,  contained  a  bulk- 
head fore  and  aft,  was  twenty  feet  long,  with  an 
upward  slope  in  front  and  a  downward  slope  in 
the  rear.  The  hydro  equipment,  which  was  more 
like  a  boat  than  anything  yet  designed,  was  able 
to  withstand  any  wind  or  wave  that  a  motor  boat 
of  similar  size  could  weather.  The  aviator  sat 
comfortably  in  the  hull  with  the  engine  not  behind 
him,  but  forward  in  the  hull  in  this  model. 

THE  "FLYING  FISH" 

A  "No.  2  flying  boat,"  just  built  by  Mr.  Cur- 
tiss,  and  successfully  tested  on  Lake  Keuka, 
Hammondsport,  in  July,  1912,  is  the  "last  word" 
in  aviation  so  far.  An  illustration  in  this  book, 
made  from  photographs  taken  in  mid-July,  1912, 
shows  fully  the  bullet-shape  of  the  "flying  fish." 

It  is  a  real  looat,  built  with  a  fish-shaped  body 
containing  two  comfortable  seats  for  the  pilot 
and  passenger  or  observer,  either  of  whom  can 
operate  the  machine  by  a  system  of  dual  control, 
making  it  also  available  for  teaching  the  art  of 
flying. 

All  the  controls  are  fastened  to  the  rear  of  the 
boat's  hull,  which  makes  them  very  rigid  and 
strong,  while  the  boat  itself,  made  in  stream-line 
form,  offers  the  least  possible  resistance  to  the 
air,  even  less  than  that  offered  by  the  landing 


146     THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

gear  upon  a  standard  land  machine.  Above  the 
boat  are  mounted  the  wings  and  aeroplane  sur- 
face. In  the  centre  of  this  standard  biplane  con- 
struction is  situated  the  eighty  horse-power  motor 
with  its  propeller  in  the  rear,  thus  returning  to 
the  original  practice,  as  in  the  standard  Curtiss 
machines,  of  having  a  single  propeller  attached 
direct  to  the  motor,  thus  doing  away  with  all 
chains  and  transmission  gearing  which  might 
give  trouble,  and  differing  from  the  earlier  model 
flying  boat  built  in  San  Diego,  California,  last 
winter  (1911-12),  which  was  equipped  with 
"tractor"  propellors — propellers  in  front — driven 
by  chains. 

The  new  flying  boat  is  twenty-six  feet  long  and 
three  feet  wide.  The  planes  are  five  and  a  half 
feet  deep  and  thirty  feet  wide.  It  runs  on  the 
water  at  a  speed  of  fifty  miles  an  hour,  and  is 
driven  by  an  eighty  horse-power  Curtiss  motor. 
At  a  greater  speed  than  this  it  cannot  be  kept  on 
the  water,  but  rises  in  the  air  and  flies  at  from 
fifty  to  sixty  miles  per  hour. 

The  boat  itself  is  provided  with  water-tight 
compartments  so  that  if  any  one  compartment 
should  be  damaged  the  flotation  afforded  by  the 
other  would  be  sufficient  to  keep  the  craft  afloat. 
It  is  also  provided  with  wheels  for  making  a  land- 
ing on  the  shore;  these  wheels  fold  up,  thus  not 
interfering  in  the  slightest  with  its  manoeuvres 
over  the  water.  The  boat  is  so  strongly  built 


148     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

that  it  can  be  readily  beached  even  through  a 
high  surf  and  handled  the  same  as  a  fisherman 
would  handle  his  dory,  or  it  may  be  housed  afloat 
like  a  motor  boat  or  anchored  to  a  buoy  like  a 
yacht. 

In  rough  water  the  spray-hood  with  which  this 
type  of  boat  is  provided  protects  the  navigators 
from  getting  wet  and  enables  the  craft  to  be  used 
very  much  as  you  might  use  a  high  speed  motor 
boat,  with  the  added  excitement  of  being  able  to 
rise  above  other  crafts  or  fly  over  them  if  they 
get  in  the  way.  It  looks  very  much  like  a  flying 
fish  in  the  air  and  although  designed  to  skim 
close  to  the  surface  of  the  water  at  high  speed  it 
can  rise  to  as  high  an  altitude  as  the  standard 
land  machine. 

Mr.  Curtiss  states:  "My  idea  was  to  provide 
a  machine  especially  adapted  for  the  requirements 
of  the  sportsman,  one  that  would  be  simple  to 
operate  and  absolutely  safe.  During  the  tests 
which  we  have  made  with  this  flying  boat  it  car- 
ried three  people  with  ease  and  the  boat  rose  with- 
out difficulty  with  the  extra  passenger,  although 
it  is  only  designed  to  accommodate  two  people. " 

With  the  hydroaeroplane  a  safe  landing  can 
always  be  made,  and  if,  through  inexperience  or 
carelessness  of  the  driver,  a  bad  landing  is  made, 
no  injury  to  the  operator  or  passenger  can  occur 
other  than  what  may  result  from  a  "ducking." 

This  boat  shows  how  directly  aeroplane-build- 


THE   EVOLUTION   OP  THE   HYDRO 

(A)    (B)   The  flying  boat  of  summer,  1012— on  land  and  in  the  air.    <C)   A  con- 
trast— the    hydroaeroplane    of   winter,    1911 


"*»».  I 


HYDROAEROPLANE  FLIGHTS 


(A)   Curtiss  driving   the   "Triad"   over  Lake   Erie, 
ground-swells  at  Atlantic  City 


(B)   Witmer  riding  the 


DEVELOPING  THE  HYDRO          149 

ers  are  turning  to  air  craft  available  for  amateur 
sport — not  for  exhibition  "stunts."  Such  boats 
will  have  ample  protection  for  the  passenger  and 
be  able  to  carry  a  large  quantity  of  fuel  together 
with  wireless  apparatus  and  provisions,  so  that 
long  overwater  journeys  may  be  made  in  com- 
parative comfort,  and  also  well  within  the  radius 
of  communication  by  wireless.  And  most  of  all 
— they  are  safe! — A.  P. 

THE  NAVY  ON  THE  HYDRO 

(AUGUSTUS  POST) 

Captain  Washington  Irving  Chambers,  head 
of  the  Aeronautical  Bureau,  United  States 
Navy,  in  a  speech  delivered  at  the  Aeronautical 
Society 's  banquet  in  New  York,  said: 

"The  hydroaeroplane  is  the  coming  machine 
so  far  as  the  navy  is  concerned ;  in  fact,  it  has  al- 
ready come.1  The  navy  machine  built  by  Glenn 

i  The  fame  of  the  hydroaeroplane  has  reached  the  Orient  and  a 
demonstration  was  recently  given  at  Tokyo,  Japan,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Japanese  Army  and  Navy  officials  by  Mr.  W.  B.  Atwater,1 
of  New  York.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Atwater  are  on  a  tour  of  the  world, 
carrying  with  them  two  Curtiss  hydroaeroplanes  and  giving  dem- 
onstrations of  a  practical  character  before  the  military  authori- 
ties of  all  the  countries  en  route.  On  Saturday,  May  llth,  1912, 
he  made  three  flights  at  Tokyo,  the  first  hydro  flights  ever  seen 
in  the  Orient. 

There  was  a  great  gathering  of  military  men  to  witness  the 
flights,  among  them  Prince  Kwacho,  representing  the  Japanese 
Imperial  Family;  Admiral  Saito,  Minister  of  the  Imperial  Navy, 
and  Vice- Admiral  Uryu. 


150     THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Curtiss  has  had  several  tryouts  and  has  proved 
itself  a  success.  I  recently  had  a  flight  with  Mr. 
Curtiss  in  this  machine,  the  'Triad,'  at  Ham- 
mondsport,  N.  Y. 

"With  two  passengers  seated  side  by  side,  the 
control  can  be  shifted  from  one  to  the  other  easily 
while  in  the  air.  When  we  had  gone  a  mile  Cur- 
tiss yelled  to  me  to  take  the  control.  The  levers 
had  been  explained  to  me  on  the  ground,  but  I 
had  not  familiarised  myself  with  them  for  the 
purpose  of  handling  the  machine  under  way.  I 
turned  on  a  notch  and  the  front  plane  tilted  up, 
bringing  the  machine  off  the  water  to  a  level  of 
four  feet  in  the  air.  We  kept  this  level  for  an- 
other mile  or  two,  when  Curtiss  took  the  control 
again.  He  turned  the  plane  lever  another  notch 
and  we  rose  to  a  ten-foot  level  and  encircled  the 
lake  several  times  without  changing  from  this 
level  more  than  a  foot  or  two,  lower  or  higher." 

As  a  justification  of  Captain  Chambers'  re- 
marks, the  Aero  Club  of  America,  at  their  annual 
banquet  held  on  January  27,  1912,  awarded  the 
"Collier  Trophy"  to  Mr.  Curtiss  for  his  success- 
ful development  and  thorough  demonstration  of 
the  hydroaeroplane,  the  terms  of  the  deed  of  gift 
stating  that  "it  shall  be  awarded  annually  for  the 

According  to  the  statement  of  the  Jcvpwn  Advertiser  the  Jap- 
anese Navy  has  followed  the  example  of  Russia,  and  forwarded  to 
America  an  order  for  four  Curtiss  hydroaeroplanes. — A.  P. 


DEVELOPING  THE  HYDEO          151 

greatest  achievement  in  aviation  in  America,  the 
value  of  which  has  been  demonstrated  by  use  dur- 
ing the  preceding  year." 

The  trophy  is  a  group  in  bronze  by  Ernest  Wise 
Keyser  of  New  York,  representing  the  triumph 
of  man  over  gravity  and  other  forces  of  nature. 
The  trophy  was  donated  by  Eobert  J.  Collier, 
president  of  the  Aero  Club  of  America. — A.  P. 


PAET  IV 
THE  REAL  FUTURE  OF  THE  AEROPLANE 

BY 

GLENN  H.  CURTISS 

WITH    CHAPTERS    BY 

CAPTAIN  PAUL  W.  BECK,  U.  S.  A.,  LIEUTENANT 
THEODORE  G.  ELLYSON,  U.  S.  N.,  AND  AUGUSTUS  POST 


CHAPTEE  I 

AEROPLANE  SPEED  OF  THE  FUTURE 

IF  you  look  over  the  books  on  aviation  that 
were  published  even  a  comparatively  short 
time  ago,  you  will  see  how  much  of  them  is  given 
to  prophecies  and  how  little  to  records  of  perform- 
ance. Because,  of  course,  as  soon  as  the  aero- 
plane came  into  existence  every  one  with  eyesight 
and  a  little  imagination  could  see  that  here  was 
a  new  factor  in  the  world's  work  that  would 
change  the  course  of  things  in  almost  every  way, 
and  naturally  every  one  began  to  forecast  the 
possibilities  of  aerial  flight.  And  at  first,  when 
the  machine  was  really  so  little  known,  even  to 
the  inventor,  that  aviators  hesitated  to  push  it 
to  the  extreme  of  its  possibilities,  writers  had 
more  to  say  about  what  the  aeroplane  would  prob- 
ably do  than  what  it  had  actually  done.  But  the 
aeroplane,  which  is  bound  to  break  all  speed-rec- 
ords, has  made  history  at  the  fastest  rate  yet. 
Day  by  day  we  move  things  over  from  the  proph- 
ecy department  to  the  history  chapter,  and  as 
the  days  slip  by  on  their  rush  to  join  the  future, 
hardly  one  but  leaves  a  record  of  accomplishment 

155 


156     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

and  achievement  to  justify  the  aeroplane  proph- 
ets. 

At  first,  as  I  have  just  said,  aviators  could  not 
believe  in  the  powers  of  the  machine;  we  used 
to  trim  down  our  garments  to  the  lightest  point, 
to  avoid  extra  weight,  whereas  now  we  bundle  up 
in  heavy  furs,  or  wear  two  suits,  one  over  the 
other,  to  meet  the  intense  cold  of  the  upper  air; 
and  a  great  surplus  of  weight  can  be  carried  by 
almost  all  machines.  We  used  to  wait  for  a  calm 
almost  absolute  before  going  up — it  used  to  be 
a  regular  thing  to  see  aviators  wetting  their  fin- 
gers and  holding  them  up  to  see  from  which  di- 
rection the  faint  breezes  were  coming — or  drop- 
ping bits  of  paper  to  see  if  the  air  was  in  that 
complete  stillness  we  used  to  think  necessary  for 
successful  flight.  When  I  was  waiting  for  just 
the  right  moment  in  Albany  to  begin  the  Hudson 
Flight — which,  because  of  the  unusual  and  abso- 
lutely unknown  atmospheric  conditions  over  a 
river  flowing  between  precipitous  and  irregular 
hills,  had  to  be  timed  with  unusual  care — the 
Poughkeepsie  paper  in  an  editorial  said  the  "Cur- 
tiss  gives  us  a  pain  in  the  neck." 

Even  after  I  had  made  the  flight  the  Paterson 
Call  made  the  wait  a  reason  for  denying  the  use 
of  aeroplanes  in  time  of  war,  pointing  out  how 
amusing  it  would  be  to  see  in  the  newspaper  re- 
ports of  the  wars  of  the  future,  "Battle  postponed 
on  account  of  the  weather !"  Whereas  now  we 


FUTURE  SPEED  157 

go  up  without  hesitation  into  what  is  actually  a 
gale  of  wind,  and  under  weather  conditions  that 
would  have  made  the  first  flyers  think  it  absolute 
suicide. 

This  discussion  of  the  future  of  the  aeroplane 
will  have  more  of  a  basis  of  solid  fact  for  its 
prophecy  than  if  it  had  been  written  a  couple  of 
years  ago.  Some  ideas  the  world  has  as  to  the 
future  of  the  machine  we  have  had  reluctantly 
to  abandon — or  at  least  indefinitely  to  postpone, 
but  so  many  new  fields  of  activity  have  opened 
that  one  may  only  sketch  the  principal  lines  along 
which  it  is  reasonable  to  expect  the  aeroplane 
and  the  art  and  science  of  mechanical  flight  to 
develop. 

The  most  practical  present  and  future  uses  of 
the  aeroplane  in  the  order  of  relative  importance 
which  it  seems  to  me  that  these  uses  will  natu- 
rally take,  are:  for  sport,  war,  and  special  pur- 
poses which  the  aeroplane  itself  will  create. 

SPEED PRESENT  AND  FUTURE 

In  saying  "for  sport "  I  mean  both  for  the  avi- 
ator himself  and  for  the  spectators  interested  in 
watching  his  aerial  evolutions  and  enthusiastic 
over  results;  over  sporting  competitions,  speed 
races,  and  record  flights  of  all  kinds.  Such  flights 
provide  as  much  fun  for  the  fellow  who  looks  on 
as  the  fellow  who  flies  and  gives  an  opportunity 
for  those  who  take  pleasure  in  acting  in  an  offi- 


158     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

cial  capacity  to  exercise  authority  to  their  hearts' 
content ! 

Speed  will  always  be  a  most  important  factor 
in  the  development  of  the  sporting  side  of  avia- 
tion. Almost  all  races  depend  upon  speed  and 
activity;  and  the  aeroplane,  the  material  embodi- 
ment and  symbol  of  speed,  equals  and  in  many 
cases  surpasses  the  speed  of  the  wind. 

Speed  will  have  no  bounds  in  the  future.  As 
I  have  already  said  briefly  in  passing,  aeroplanes 
will  soon  be  going  considerably  over  one  hundred 
miles  per  hour.  A  motorcycle  has  gone  at  the 
rate  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  miles  per 
hour  and  an  aeroplane  should  be  able  to  go  even 
faster.  With  the  help  of  a  strong  wind  blowing 
in  the  direction  of  flight,  two  hundred  miles  an 
hour  ought  to  be  possible  of  attainment.  Ma- 
chines for  high  speed,  however,  must  have  some 
means  of  contracting  the  wing  area  or  flattening 
out  the  curve  in  the  planes  so  that  when  we  want 
to  go  fast,  we  can  reduce  the  amount  of  surface 
of  the  machine  to  lessen  friction  and  so  that  when 
we  want  to  go  more  slowly  and  land,  we  can  in- 
crease the  size  of  the  wing  surface. 

The  Etrich  machine  built  in  Austria  has  been 
constructed  so  that  the  curvature  of  the  planes 
can  be  changed  by  operating  a  lever  near  the 
pilot;  this  enables  the  machine  to  attain  high 
speed  in  flight  and  to  fly  more  slowly  in  starting 
and  landing. 


FUTURE  SPEED  159 

The  record  is  one  hundred  and  eight  miles  an 
hour  now  (September,  1912)  and  we  will  not  be 
surprised  to  see  it  climb  up  in  proportion  as  rap- 
idly as  the  altitude  record  did  in  1911. 

There  is  no  wonder  that  an  aeroplane  race 
should  create  such  absorbing  interest,  almost 
amounting  to  a  craze,  in  the  mind  of  the  public 
directly  interested.  Speed  is  the  one  thing  about 
the  aeroplane  that  appeals  both  to  the  practical 
and  to  the  imaginative  man ;  the  man  of  business, 
to  whom  saving  time  means  saving  money,  and 
the  poet,  or  the  man  of  leisure,  to  whom  the  words 
"make  a  bee-line" — that  is,  an  air  line — have  al- 
ways stood  for  speed  and  directness.  Now  in 
earth  or  rail  friction-machines,  the  limit  of  speed 
has  almost  been  reached,  except  in  the  case  of 
monorail  vehicles,  and  there  seems  to  be  little 
progress  in  this  direction.  With  the  aeroplane, 
on  the  contrary,  speed  is  only  in  its  infancy. 
None  of  the  difficulties  that  check  the  development 
of  speed  in  the  automobile  or  locomotive  attend 
the  aeroplane.  What  means  speed  now — ninety  or 
ninety-five  miles  an  hour — merely  marks  a  stage 
in  the  machine 's  development ;  a  hundred  and  fifty 
an  hour  is  even  now  within  its  possibilities,  and 
a  much  greater  speed  is  by  no  means  beyond  the 
vision  of  the  present  generation.  What  the  boys 
of  to-day  are  going  to  see  when  they  grow  up  no 
one  can  foretell.  It  is  largely  a  question  of  mo- 
tive power — that  and  the  reduction  of  resistance. 


160     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

In  the  latter  respect  I  have  already  materially  cut 
down  the  resistance  of  the  newest  type  of  Curtiss 
machine,  in  order  to  increase  the  speed.  I  was 
able,  as  I  have  said,  to  win  the  International  Cup 
at  Rheims  in  1909  with  a  speed  of  forty-seven  and 
one-half  miles  an  hour.  At  Los  Angeles  during 
the  past  winter  my  latest  type  was  able  to  fly 
more  than  seventy  miles  an  hour,  and  the  same 
type  of  engine,  an  eight-cylinder,  has  also  been 
made  more  powerful,  thus  the  increased  speed  is 
due  to  the  improvements  in  the  lines  of  the  ma- 
chine, the  reduction  of  surface,  and  the  controls, 
and  the  increase  of  the  power  of  the  motor. 

There  is  still  room  for  reduction  of  surfaces, 
minor  improvements  in  the  general  outlines  and 
in  the  control;  but  the  largest  element  in  any  in- 
crease of  speed  must  rest  with  the  development 
of  the  motor.  Increased  power  is  the  tendency, 
with  as  much  reduction  in  weight  as  possible. 
Personally,  I  can't  see  much  room  for  reduction 
in  weight.  At  present  I  am  using  a  motor  of  my 
own  manufacture  that  weighs  but  three  pounds 
to  the  horse-power.  This  I  consider  extremely 
light  as  compared,  for  instance,  with  the  engines 
used  in  submarines  of  the  Navy,  which  weigh 
from  sixty  to  seventy  pounds  to  the  horse-power. 
Still,  there  will  be  some  reduction  in  weight  per 
horse-power. 

With  the  great  speed  that  will  undoubtedly 
mark  the  aeroplane  flights  even  of  the  near  future, 


FUTURE  SPEED  161 

the  physical  endurance  of  the  operator  will  count 
for  a  great  deal  in  long  flights.  By  the  time  we 
can  fly  much  over  a  hundred  miles  an  hour  there 
will  have  to  be  some  means  of  protection  devised 
for  the  operator,  for  anyone  who  has  travelled 
sixty  or  seventy  miles  an  hour  in  an  automobile 
knows  how  uncomfortable  such  a  trip  becomes  if 
it  keeps  up  over  long  distances.  The  driver  of 
an  aeroplane  sitting  out  in  front  unprotected 
causes  far  more  ^head-resistance."  It  will  be  an 
easy  matter  to  arrange  some  sort  of  protection  for 
him. 

How  strong  this  ^head-resistance"  can  be,  I  re- 
alised in  a  curious  experience  while  racing  with 
Ely  at  Los  Angeles,  going  at  probably  sixty-five 
miles  an  hour.  I  looked  upward  to  see  just  where 
Ely  was  flying,  and  as  I  raised  my  head  the  wind 
got  under  my  eyelids  and  puffed  them  out  like  toy 
balloons.  For  a  moment  I  was  confused  and 
could  scarcely  see,  but  as  soon  as  I  turned  my  gaze 
on  the  ground  the  wind  pressure  forced  the  lids 
back  into  their  normal  position. 

SAFER  THAN  AUTOMOBILE  RACES 

I  believe  there  are  fewer  dangers  in  racing 
aeroplanes  than  in  racing  automobiles.  Eaces 
run  over  the  ground  have  to  contend  against  ob- 
structions to  the  course,  tire  troubles,  and  "skid- 
ding" on  a  wet  track,  or  in  making  sharp  turns. 
None  of  these  exist  in  the  race  in  the  air.  The 


162     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

course  is  always  clear,  there  is  no  "  track, ' '  wet  or 
dry,  and  as  for  the  turns  that  look  so  desperate 
to  the  inexperienced  observer  on  the  ground,  the 
operator,  far  from  slipping  out  of  his  seat  as  he 
4 1 banks"  sharply,  sits  tight  and  feels  as  if  he 
were  going  on  an  even  keel.  If  you  can  imagine 
how  the  water  in  a  pail  would  feel  as  you  swing 
the  pail  around  your  head  so  fast  that  not  a  drop 
spills,  you  can  realise  the  sense  of  stability  that 
the  aviator  feels  as  he  whirls  around  a  circular 
course  at  a  tremendous  rate  of  speed,  in  fact, 
once  an  aeroplane  is  up  in  the  air,  it  is  often  safer 
to  travel  fast  than  it  is  to  travel  slow. 

ACCIDENTS 

Of  course  it  would  be  folly,  in  view  of  the  list  of 
accidents,  fatal  and  otherwise,  that  the  newspa- 
pers print  and  reprint  every  time  a  noted  aviator 
falls,  to  assert  that  there  is  no  danger  in  flying. 
I  doubt  if  the  American  man,  especially  the  Amer- 
ican young  man,  would  take  to  the  aeroplane  so 
enthusiastically  if  the  sport  were  as  safe  as  par- 
lour croquet.  There  is,  of  course,  always  danger 
of  something  going  wrong  with  an  aeroplane  in 
flight  that  may  bring  it  down  too  quickly  for 
safety,  but  unless  the  derangement  is  vital,  an 
expert  aviator  can  make  a  safe  landing,  even  with 
a  "dead"  motor.  And  the  dangers  of  flight  are 
growing  less  and  less  every  year  as  the  machine 


FUTUBE  SPEED  163 

is  improved  and  as  the  aviator  becomes  more  skil- 
ful and  more  experienced  in  air  conditions.  The 
report  of  the  French  Government  for  1911  shows 
that  there  have  been  only  one-tenth  as  many  fatal 
accidents  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  flights 
made,  as  in  the  first  year  of  aviation,  but  each  ac- 
cident has  made  ten  times  as  much  stir. 

INCEEASE  IN  SKILL 

Perhaps  the  greatest  advancement  in  aviation 
during  the  past  year  has  been  due  to  the  increased 
skill  of  the  aviators.  Men  like  Beachey,  Mc- 
Curdy,  Willard,  Brookins,  Parmelee,  Latham, 
Kadley,  and  others  who  have  made  flights  in  this 
country,  have  shown  remarkable  strides  in  the  art 
of  flying.  This  advancement  has  been  in  experi- 
ence— in  knowing  what  to  do  in  all  sorts  of 
weather — in  taking  advantage  of  air  currents  and 
in  knowing  how  to  make  safe  landings  when  trou- 
ble occurs.  A  year  ago  it  would  have  looked  like 
a  desire  to  commit  suicide  to  attempt  some  of  the 
"  stunts "  these  men  now  perform  as  a  part  of 
their  daily  exhibitions. 

At  the  same  time,  I  want  to  make  it  plain  that, 
personally,  I  do  not  now,  nor  ever  have  encour- 
aged so-called  "fancy"  flying.  I  regard  some  of 
the  spectacular  gyrations  performed  by  any  of 
half  a  dozen  flyers  I  know  as  foolhardy  and  as 
taking  unnecessary  chances.  I  do  not  believe 


164     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

fancy  or  trick  flying  demonstrates  anything  ex- 
cept an  unlimited  amount  of  nerve  and  skill  and, 
perhaps,  the  possibilities  of  aerial  acrobatics. 

CROSS-COUNTRY   EACES 

The  year  1912  in  America  is  the  year  of  great 
cross-country  flights.  We  have  already  seen  the 
foreshadowing  of  this  development  in  the  great 
flights  of  Atwood  from  St.  Louis  to  New  York  and 
Eodgers  from  coast  to  coast.  Eodgers'  trip  was 
a  great  feat.  Just  think!  Clear  across  the 
United  States  and  so  many  smashes  that  only  a 
man  with  indomitable  will  and  pluck  would  have 
kept  on  to  success.  Eodgers  became  an  expert  at 
landing  and  made  landings  almost  anywhere. 
Soon  we  shall  see,  instead  of  men  flying  alone  as 
in  the  case  of  these  trips,  double  flights  with  two 
pilots  relieving  each  other  so  that  the"  distance 
covered  in  flights  may  be  increased,  and  the  capa- 
bilities of  machines  for  endurance  can  be  fully 
shown. 

The  Gordon  Bennett  International  Cup  race  at 
Chicago  this  year  brought  to  this  country  two  of 
the  best  racing  machines  in  the  world  and  has 
stimulated  interest  in  aviation  to  a  higher  pitch 
than  it  has  ever  had  in  the  United  States.  At  the 
next  Gordon  Bennett,  I  hope  to  see  an  American 
surpass  even  Vedrines'  speed  of  one  hundred  and 
five  miles  an  hour  for  one  hundred  twenty-four 
and  eight-tenths  miles. 


FUTUEE  SPEED  165 

RACING  TYPES   OF  TO-MORROW 

There  have  been  many  meets  since  Bheims, 
some  international,  some  of  local  importance ;  in- 
deed almost  every  citizen  of  a  civilised  country 
has  had  a  chance  to  attend  some  one  of  them  with- 
out too  great  a  journey,  but  what  I  have  said  of 
one  meet  is  true  to  some  degree  of  all :  that  racing 
and  contests  in  general,  especially  between  differ- 
ent makes  of  machines,  is  of  the  greatest  use  to 
the  development  of  the  aeroplane,  just  as  compe- 
tition among  automobile  manufacturers,  in  put- 
ting out  racing  machines,  helped  the  development 
of  that  vehicle. 

There  are  at  the  present  time  a  number  of  types 
and  makes  of  aeroplanes,  each  claiming  some  es- 
pecial advantage  over  the  others,  and  trying  to 
demonstrate  it.  Some  of  these  will  drop  out — 
some  of  them  have  dropped  already — some  will 
develop  toward  the  aeroplane  of  the  future,  which 
we  can  only  infer  from  the  machines  of  to-day. 
The  way  to  bring  about  this  "  survival  of  the  fit- 
test "  is  by  speed  contests  and  endurance  races, 
where  the  American  manufacturer  pits  his  ma- 
chine against  the  foreign-made  article  and  the  bi- 
plane contends  against  the  monoplane. 

The  public  believed,  when  these  two  types  came 
into  being,  that  there  would  be  a  sharp  division 
of  uses  between  them ;  that  the  biplane  would  ex- 
cel in  just  certain  directions,  the  monoplane  in 


166     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

others,  and  the  public  has  watched  the  various 
records  of  speed,  of  endurance,  of  distance,  as 
they  changed  back  and  forth  between  the  two 
types,  and  has  found  that  deciding  their  relative 
merits  and  assigning  their  special  uses  was  by 
no  means  the  simple  and  summary  process  they 
thought  it  would  be.  The  contests  will  have  to 
evolve  new  rules  and  regulations;  for  instance, 
there  will  have  to  be  some  means  of  handicapping 
machines  with  very  high-power  engines  and  small 
plane  surface — as  in  the  case  of  monoplanes, 
which,  with  a  minimum  of  plane  surface  and  high 
power  engines,  have  a  speed  advantage  over  the 
biplanes,  that  with  equal  engine  power  have  much 
larger  plane  surface.  Perhaps  the  method  of 
handicapping  now  used  in  certain  races  of  stock 
automobiles,  that  is  cubic  displacement  of  the  en- 
gine, will  be  adopted. 

PUBLIC  INTEKEST  IN   MEETS 

The  aviation  meet  at  Los  Angeles,  California, 

[  1 0  in  1911,  was  a  good  indication  of  what  great  and 

deep  interest  the  public  have  in  contests  in  the 

air,  and  will  have  in  the  great  races  of  the  future. 

Aeroplane  flights  called  thirty  thousand  people 
through  the  gates  the  second  day  of  the  ten  days' 
meet.  This  is  the  biggest  crowd,  I  believe,  that 
ever  paid  admission  to  an  aviation  meet,  in  this 
country,  and  probably  the  largest  that  has  ever 
attended  any  outdoor  attraction  except  the  world 's 


FUTUEE  SPEED  167 

series  baseball  games  and  the  few  big  football 
games.  In  addition,  there  was  a  considerable 
crowd  on  the  outside  who  did  not  pay  admission, 
but  the  actual  paid  admissions  on  Sunday  were 
more  than  thirty  thousand.  This  third  annual 
meet  did  better  than  either  of  those  held  during 
the  two  previous  years,  and  this,  I  am  convinced, 
proves  that  aviation  is  a  standard  and  lasting 
attraction. 


CHAPTER  II 

FUTURE  SURPRISES  OF  THE  AEROPLANE— HUNTING, 
TRAVEL,  MAIL,  WIRELESS,  LIFE-SAVING,  AND  OTHER 
SPECIAL  USES 

MANY  will  be  the  future  uses  of  the  aero- 
plane ;  special  uses  not  necessarily  depend- 
ent on  speed. 

Sportsmen  are  likely  to  find  in  the  aeroplane, 
especially  in  the  hydro,  an  admirable  vehicle  for 
hunting,  aside  from  their  interest  in  its  racing 
capacity.  Already  there  is  pending  in  the  Cali- 
fornia legislature  a  bill  designed  to  regulate 
shooting  from  an  aeroplane,  intended  as  an  addi- 
tion to  the  California  aeroplane  traffic  regula- 
tions, described  later.  While  this  bill  is  probably 
intended  as  more  or  less  of  a  joke,  it  has  been 
thoroughly  demonstrated  that  it  is  possible  to 
shoot  wild  ducks  from  an  aeroplane.  Hubert 
Latham  proved  this  fact  in  his  Antoinette  mono- 
plane at  Los  Angeles. 

Latham  flew  from  Dominguez  Field  to  the 
Bolsa  Chica  Gun  Club  on  the  shore  of  the  Pacific, 
ten  miles  away,  and  chased  wild  ducks  for  thirty 
minutes,  finally  bagging  one.  The  sportsmen  of 
California  thought  they  saw  in  this  feat  of  La- 

168 


AEROPLANE  SURPRISES  169 

tham's  the  near  approach  of  a  time  when  the  aero- 
plane would  be  utilised  for  exterminating  game, 
and  seemed  much  exercised  over  the  incident. 
The  newspapers  saw  only  the  humour  of  the  inci- 
dent, however,  and  the  sportsmen  were  quickly  re- 
assured. 

Latham,  not  content  with  this  achievement  and 
thirsting  for  new  thrills,  said  that  he  was  going 
to  fly  up  into  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  shoot  griz- 
zly bears.  His  last  undertaking  was  to  take  his 
aeroplane  with  him  to  the  Congo  where  he  went 
to  hunt  big  game  and  to  use  the  aeroplane  in  this 
novel  and  sensational  sport.  Strange  to  relate, 
after  having  braved  all  the  dangers  of  the  air,  he 
met  his  fate  by  being  gored  to  •  death  by  a 
wounded  and  infuriated  wild  buffalo,  in  July, 
1912. 

Some  ranchers  out  west  have  clubbed  together 
to  purchase  an  aeroplane  for  hunting  wolves 
which  have  been  killing  their  cattle,  and  four  avi- 
ators flew  over  San  Fernando  Valley  in  California 
recently,  eagerly  watching  the  underbrush  for  a 
sight  of  two  fugitive  bandits  who  for  two  days 
had  eluded  a  large  sheriff 's  posse  after  attempt- 
ing to  hold  up  a  railway  agent  and  mortally 
wounding  a  deputy  at  San  Fernando.  Each  avi- 
ator was  sworn  in  as  a  deputy  and  carried  with 
him  an  observer  provided  with  a  powerful  field 
glass.  They  reported  that  they  could  see  objects 
very  clearly  below. 


170     THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

In  scouring  the  hills  one  of  the  observers 
thought  that  he  had  surely  spotted  his  man  and 
the  plane  was  dipped  abruptly  toward  the  ground. 
On  returning  he  said,  "It  was  a  dog  I  saw  and  I'll 
bet  that  dog  is  running  yet. ' ' 

I  have  heard  on  the  best  of  authority  that  an 
aviator  in  this  country  chased  a  buzzard  until  it 
fell  exhausted  and  that  in  Europe  this  same  game 
was  played  by  a  German  aviator  upon  a  large 
stork. 

AEKIAL  BIRD-NETTING 

On  my  practice  flights  in  a  hydroaeroplane 
over  San  Diego  Bay,  I  noticed  on  several  occa- 
sions that  pelicans  and  sea  gulls  and  even  wild 
ducks  got  in  my  path,  and  I  was  sometimes 
obliged  to  change  my  course  in  order  to  avoid  the 
slow-flying  fowl.  It  occurred  to  me  that  with  a 
net  affixed  to  the  forward  part  of  the  planes  it 
would  have  been  an  easy  matter  to  run  down  and 
bag  a  pelican,  and  possibly  a  sea  gull.  The  ducks 
are  too  quick  to  be  caught  by  an  aeroplane,  as  yet. 
Chasing  ducks  in  an  aeroplane  and  catching  them 
in  a  net  would  be  about  as  thrilling  a  sport  as 
one  can  imagine.  Perhaps  when  the  killing  of 
wild  fowl  with  guns  shall  have  palled  on  sports- 
men, we  shall  see  the  method  of  "netting"  them 
with  an  aeroplane  come  into  use.  Something  af- 
ter the  manner  of  scientists  who  hunt  the  lepi- 
doptera. 


AEEOPLANE  SUBPRISES  171 

Mrs.  Lillian  Janeway  Platt  Atwater,  of  New 
York,  while  taking  instructions  in  the  operation 
of  the  hydroaeroplane  at  North  Island,  early  in 
1912,  tried  my  new  method  of  catching  seabirds. 
She  asked  Lieut.  J.  W.  McClaskey,  instructor  at 
the  Curtiss  school,  to  take  out  the  hydroaeroplane, 
with  her  as  a  passenger,  and  attempt  to  catch  a 
pelican  or  gull  with  a  net.  The  instructor 
promptly  agreed  and  for  almost  half  an  hour  the 
big  hydroaeroplane  with  Lieut.  McClaskey  and 
Mrs.  Atwater  chased  pelicans  and  sea  gulls  up 
and  down  the  bay.  They  discontinued  the  hunt 
only  when  a  large  pelican  barely  escaped  becom- 
ing entangled  in  the  propeller,  which  would  have 
smashed  it  and  possibly  caused  an  accident.  On 
another  occasion  Mrs.  Atwater  did  actually  suc- 
ceed in  catching  a  gull  while  flying  with  her  hus- 
band. 

Shooting  rabbits  from  an  aeroplane  would  be 
comparatively  easy.  I  came  to  this  conclusion 
while  flying  over  North  Island,  which  is  covered 
with  weeds  and  sagebrush  for  the  most  part,  with 
hundreds  of  jack-rabbits  and  cottontails  living 
there.  At  first  these  rabbits  were  terribly  fright- 
ened by  the  aeroplane  and  ran  in  all  directions  to 
escape.  They  soon  became  used  to  the  sight, 
however,  and  would  watch  the  aeroplane  with  a 
great  deal  of  curiosity.  One  of  the  big  jack-rab- 
bits, either  from  fright  or  curiosity,  waited  too 
long  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  Harry  Harkness  in 


172     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

his  Antoinette,  when  he  made  a  rather  abrupt  de- 
scent, and  it  was  cut  in  two  by  the  propeller. 

MAIL-CABRYING 

One  of  the  most  important  special  uses  to  which 
the  aeroplane  is  particularly  adapted  is  for  car- 
rying the  mail.  Eoyal  mail  was  first  actually 
handled  at  Allahabad  in  India  last  summer,  dur- 
ing which  over  6,000  letters  were  transferred. 
This  service  was  planned  to  prove  the  great  value 
of  an  aeroplane  post  during  war  time  to  a  be- 
sieged town.  A  mail  route  via  aeroplane  was  es- 
tablished on  trial  between  London  and  Windsor 
in  England,  which  carried  several  tons  of  mail 
matter.  And  in  this  country  last  fall  Postmaster- 
General  Frank  H.  Hitchcock  and  Captain  Paul 
Beck,  U.  S.  A.,  inaugurated  the  first  aerial  postal 
service  regularly  established  in  the  United  States, 
over  a  route  between  the  Aero  Club  of  America's 
flying  grounds  at  Nassau  Boulevard  on  Long  Is- 
land, and  Mineola,  L.  I.  A  picturesque  account 
of  this  little  episode  is  given  by  Frank  O'Malley, 
who  wrote : 

"The  flying  events  of  the  day  at  the  Nassau 
Boulevard  aviation  meet  came  to  an  end  in  a  hub- 
bub of  joyousness  among  1,500  spectators  on  the 
grounds. 

"Lieutenant  Milling  had  busted  the  American 
record  and  was  still  flying  for  the  world's  record 
when  a  tall,  youngish  man  decked  out  in  a  blue 


AEEOPLANE  SURPBISES  173 

serge  suit,  and  a  gray  cap,  climbed  into  the  Cur- 
tiss  machine  driven  by  Captain  Paul  Beck  of  the 
army. 

"  'The  Hon.  Frank  H.  Hitchcock,  Postmaster- 
Gen  'rul  of  the  whole  United  States/  the  mega- 
phone man  began  to  holler,  'will  now  fly  to  Mine- 
ola  with  Captain  Beck  to  deliver  the  mail. 
Postmaster-Gen  'rul  Hitchcock  of  the  United 
States  will  carry  the  mail-bag  on  his  knees  and 
drop  the  bag  at  Mineola  into  a  circle  in  which  will 
be  the  Postmaster-Gen  'nil  of — I  mean  the  Post- 
master of  Mineola.  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  Post- 
master-Gen'nil  Hitchcock.'  (Much  applause.) 

"Mr.  Hitchcock  wasn't  around  to  hear  all  this 
and  so  didn't  lift  his  gray  cap  in  acknowledgment. 
He  was  far  out  on  the  field  with  Attorney-General 
Wickersham  and  Captain  Beck.  Post  Office  In- 
spector Doyle  handed  the  Postmaster-General  a 
mail  bag  containing  one  thousand,  four  hundred 
and  forty  postcards  and  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  letters,  and  Captain  Beck  and  the  Postmas- 
ter-General hiked  off  in  a  northerly  direction  for 
the  high  spots, 

"The  Curtiss  circled  three-quarters  of  the 
field  and  then  climbed  rapidly  until  it  was  three 
hundred  or  four  hundred  feet  above  the  south  end 
of  the  track.  Ovington,  who  had  also  got  under 
way  with  a  second  bag  of  mail  in  his  monoplane, 
shot  up  into  the  same  acre  of  sky  occupied  by 
Captain  Beck  and  Mr.  Hitchcock  and  shot  east- 


174     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

ward  as  a  track  finder  for  Captain  Beck's  ma- 
chine. 

"The  field  could  see  the  two  machines  almost 
all  the  time  during  the  cross-country  flight.  The 
way  the  biplane  with  a  passenger  pegged  along 
just  behind  the  monoplane  with  only  a  pilot 
aboard  was  a  caution.  Over  a  big  white  circle 
painted  on  the  Mineola  real  estate,  Ovington  from 
his  monoplane  and  the  Postmaster-General  from 
Captain  Beck's  machine,  plumped  down  to  Mine- 
ola the  two  pouches  and  hit  within  the  circle  in 
each  case. 

"The  biplane  teetered  slightly  as  the  mail  bag 
was  released  and  then  the  two  machines  made  a 
circle  and  spun  back  to  where  the  crowd  stood 
on  tiptoe  peering  over  fences  at  Nassau  Boule- 
vard. 

"  'I  was  up  once  before,'  the  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral said  after  he  had  shaken  hands  all  around 
upon  his  return  to  earth.  '  That  was  at  Baltimore 
with  Count  de  Lesseps  in  his  Bleriot.  The  bi- 
plane to-day  I  found  was  much  steadier. 

"  'Fly  again?  I  hope  so,  because  I  like  the  ex- 
perience very  much.  My  trip  to-day  was  espe- 
cially enjoyable  because  at  Baltimore  I  could  see 
very  little  of  the  ground  below,  owing  to  the 
closed-in  construction  of  a  monoplane.  To-day 
from  the  biplane  all  this  end  of  Long  Island  was 
stretched  out  to  be  looked  at. 

"  'Yes,  air-routes  are  all  right  for  practical 


AEROPLANE  SUEPEISES  175 

mail-carrying/  Mr.  Hitchcock  continued,  in  an- 
swer to  a  question.  'I  mean/  he  smiled,  'the  air 
is  all  right,  but  the  vehicles  must  continue  toward 
perfection.  But  even  with  the  aeroplane  as  it  is 
now  it  would  be  very  useful  to  us,  particularly  in 
some  parts  of  the  country. 

PKACTICAL   VALUE   TO-DAY   FOR   MAIL-CARRYING 

"  'Take  along  the  Colorado  Eiver  in  the  canon 
district  of  Yuma,  for  instance,  or  in  parts  of 
Alaska.  Along  the  Colorado  there  are  places 
where  detours  of  fifty  miles  out  of  the  way  are 
made  in  mail  routes  to  get  to  a  bridge.  An  aero- 
plane could  hop  right  across  the  river. 

"  'The  expensiveness  of  maintaining  an  aero- 
plane service  is  an  obstacle,  but  that  will  dimin- 
ish. I  would  like  to  see  the  Post  Office  Depart- 
ment do  something  definite  in  this  direction  for 
the  good  effect  it  would  have  in  stimulating  the 
development  of  the  machine.  Fliers  at  present 
have  many  lean  months  between  the  meets.'  " 

Ever  since  Postmaster-General  Hitchcock  made 
this  trip  he  has  been  an  enthusiastic  advocate  of 
the  aeroplane  as  a  means  of  transporting  mail 
over  difficult  routes.  During  the  next  few  months 
he  granted  permission  to  a  number  of  aviators, 
including  Ovington,  Milling,  Arnold,  Eobinson, 
Lincoln  Beachey,  Charles  F.  Walsh,  Beckwith 
Havens,  Charles  C.  Witmer,  and  Eugene  Godet, 
all  of  whom  fly  Curtis s  machines,  to  act  as  special 


176     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

mail  carriers,  and  these  men  have  carried  mail 
bags  in  similar  exhibiting  tests  from  aviation 
fields  to  points  near  the  Post  Office.  Among  the 
cities  where  such  tests  have  been  officially  made 
are  Eochester,  N.  Y. ;  Dubuque,  Iowa ;  Fort  Smith, 
Ark.;  Temple  and  Houston,  Texas;  Atlanta,  Sa- 
vannah, Columbia,  and  Eome,  Ga.;  and  Spartan- 
burg  and  Salisbury,  N.  C. 

The  record  for  long-distance  mail  carrying  is 
held  by  Hugh  Eobinson,  who  took  a  bag  of  mail 
at  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  and  carried  it  on  his  long 
flight  down  the  Mississippi  Eiver  in  a  hydroaero- 
plane as  far  as  Eock  Island,  111.  The  distance 
covered  by  Eobinson  was  375  miles  on  this  trip, 
and  letters  and  first  class  mail  matter  were  put  off 
and  taken  on  at  Winona,  Minn. ;  Prairie  du  Chien, 
Wis. ;  Dubuque  and  Clinton,  Iowa;  and  Eock  Is- 
land, 111. 

Of  course  the  aeroplane  is,  at  present,  best 
suited  for  carrying  mail  in  localities  where  the 
weather  is  equable;  in  such  places  it  offers  a 
speedy,  direct,  and  dependable  service.  These 
numerous  experiments  in  mail-carrying  by  aero- 
plane have  brought  about  the  urging  of  an  appro- 
priation by  Congress  for  this  purpose.  The 
second  Assistant  Postmaster-General,  who  is  in 
charge  of  mail  transportation,  in  a  report  that  has 
just  been  made  public  at  the  time  I  am  writing 
this,  asks  for  $50,000  for  the  transportation  of 
mails  by  aeroplane.  Part  of  this  fund  may  be 


AEEOPLANE  SUEPEISES  177 

devoted  to  mail  routes  in  the  Alaskan  interior. 
One  government  has  actively  entered  on  prac- 
tical mail-carrying  by  aeroplane.  Belgium  has 
voted  a  fund  to  establish  routes  across  seven  hun- 
dred miles  of  impenetrable  Congo  jungle. 

WIKELESS 

The  aeroplane  is  ideal  for  use  with  wireless 
telegraphy  and  the  combination  of  the  aeroplane's 
ability  to  obtain  information  and  the  ability  to 
transmit  it  by  wireless  will  be  one  of  its  most  im- 
portant future  developments  in  practical  useful- 
ness. 

Wireless  experiments  do  not  involve  any  great 
problem,  as  messages  have  been  successfully 
transmitted  from  an  aeroplane  to  land  stations 
many  times.  The  receiving  of  a  wireless  message 
by  an  operator  in  an  aeroplane  from  a  land  sta- 
tion or  from  a  warship  involves  considerable  dif- 
ficulty because  of  the  noise  and  vibration  of  the 
motor,  but  it  is  expected,  however,  that  this  will 
be  soon  entirely  overcome  and  that  it  will  be  pos- 
sible to  transmit  or  receive  telegrams  in  an  aero- 
plane to  or  from  distant  points  with  the  same 
ease  and  accuracy  that  it  is  now  seen  on  the 
ground  or  on  the  water. 

The  telegraph  seems  to  be  the  companion  of  the 
locomotive,  the  telephone  of  the  automobile,  and 
now  wireless  has  its  side-partner  in  the  aero- 
plane ! 


178     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Important  experiments  are  being  carried  on  by 
the  signal  corps  of  every  army  with  various 
methods  of  communication  with  an  aeroplane  in 
flight  and  by  the  aviator  with  those  on  the  ground. 
They  have  tried  an  instrument  for  making  smoke 
signals,  with  large  and  small  puffs,  reviving  a 
method  used  by  the  American  Indians  in  the  pio- 
neer days  and  quite  familiar  to  all  boys  who  have 
played  Indian  in  the  country. 

FORESTRY   SURVEY 

The  supervisor  of  the  Selway  forest,  consist- 
ing of  1,600,000  acres,  which  was  formerly  part 
of  the  Nez  Perces  reserve  in  Idaho,  predicts  that 
aeroplanes  and  wireless  telegraphy  will  be  impor- 
tant factors  in  forest  fire  prevention  before  a  far 
distant  date.  He  believes  that  a  man  in  an  aero- 
plane could  do  more  accurate  and  extensive  survey 
work  in  the  forests  of  the  Pacific  slope  country  in 
a  few  hours  when  forest  fires  are  raging  than  is 
usually  accomplished  by  twenty  rangers  in  a 
week.  With  wireless  stations  installed  on  peaks 
in  the  chief  danger  zones,  he  believed  it  would  be 
a  comparatively  easy  task  to  assemble  men  and 
apparatus  to  check  and  extinguish  the  flames  and 
prevent  fires  from  spreading. 

MOVING  PICTURES 

Aeroplanes  have  already  been  used  for  pur- 
poses of  photography  and  moving  picture  ma- 


AEROPLANE  SURPRISES  179 

chines  have  also  been  attached  to  them  and  some 
remarkable  pictures  taken.  One  of  the  large 
moving  picture  magnates  said,  "Now,  Mr.  Cur- 
tiss,  if  you  can  take  a  series  of  moving  pictures 
showing  a  trip  across  the  United  States,  I  do  not 
care  if  it  takes  you  a  year  to  get  it  and  even 
though  it  is  taken  piecemeal,  or  one  section  at  a 
time  over  the  main  cities  on  the  way,  I  will  pay 
you  well  for  it.  We  will  take  the  film,  trim  it 
down,  and  run  it  through  at  lightning  speed  tak- 
ing our  audience  from  New  York  to  San  Fran- 
cisco 'as  the  bird  flies'  in  twenty  minutes." 

The  value  of  moving  pictures  taken  from  above 
— and  from  a  swift  low-flying  machine — is  appar- 
ent at  a  glance.  The  contour  of  the  country  is 
shown  as  in  no  other  way,  and  now  that  warfare  is 
going  to  have  a  quite  different  point  of  view,  even 
a  different  range  of  action,  it  is  important  that 
schools,  and  especially  military  schools,  should 
be  made  familiar  with  this  aspect  of  the  land. 
The  flat  map  is  superseded  by  such  a  panoramic 
view.  In  time  of  actual  war,  moving  pictures 
taken  in  this  way  will  have  a  unique  value. 

In  photographing  reviews  of  troops,  public  cel- 
ebrations, lines  of  battleships,  or  any  scenes  that 
require  a  panoramic  representation,  the  aeroplane 
has  been  used  with  success.  It  can  also  be  of 
great  service  in  photographing  animals  and  rare 
birds  which  may  inhabit  regions  otherwise  inac- 
cessible. With  the  advance  of  nature  study  and 


180     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

the  steady  development  of  " camera  hunting," 
the  aeroplane  will  be  used  more  and  more  for 
such  purposes  as  well  as  for  photographing  moun- 
tain tops  and  other  insurmountable  or  dangerous 
places  to  reach. 

Eobert  G.  Fowler  has  had  some  surprisingly 
good  motion  pictures  taken  from  his  machine  dur- 
ing his  cross-continent  flight,  by  an  operator  sit- 
ting beside  him,  his  camera  placed  on  a  temporary 
stand. 

Mr.  Frank  W.  Coffyn  took  a  most  interesting 
series  of  moving  pictures  of  New  York  City  from 
the  water  front,  portraying  the  Battery,  the 
Brooklyn  Bridge,  and  the  famous  Statue  of  Lib- 
erty in  the  harbour.  Mr.  CofTyn  used  a  hydro- 
aeroplane for  this  purpose,  which  made  his 
flights  comparatively  safe.  In  fact,  such  a  feat 
would  have  been  well  nigh  impossible  for  a  ma- 
chine that  could  not  land  on  the  water,  for  there 
are  no  places  where  an  aeroplane  can  land  in  the 
business  section  of  New  York  unless  the  aviator 
should  land  on  one  of  the  large  buildings,  and 
then  he  would  have  great  difficulty  in  getting 
away  again.1 

Great  care  has  to  be  exercised  to  keep  the  ma- 
chine on  an  even  keel,  so  that  the  operator  can 
manage  the  roll  of  film. 

i  The  first  start  from  a  roof-top  was  made  on  June  12,  1912, 
when  Silas  Christoferson  in  a  Curtiss  biplane  rose  from  a  plat- 
form built  on  the  roof  of  the  Hotel  Multuomah,  Portland,  Ore., 
and  flew  safely  away. — AUGUSTUS  POST. 


AEROPLANE  SURPRISES  181 

LIFE-SAVING 

Another  branch  of  the  government  service  that 
will  no  doubt  be  greatly  aided  by  aeroplanes  are 
the  Life  Saving  Stations  along  the  coast,  whose 
regular  equipment  might  well  include  an  aero- 
plane to  fly  to  wrecks  and  carry  a  line  from  shore 
to  ship  when  the  high  seas  make  it  impossible  to 
launch  a  lifeboat.  It  might  be  impracticable  to 
go  out  during  the  period  of  severe  storm,  but  there 
is  always  a  calm  in  the  air  after  a  storm,  as  well 
as  the  proverbial  calm  before  one,  while  the  high 
seas  in  which  a  lifeboat  cannot  live  are  still  run- 
ning. The  aeroplane  or  the  hydroaeroplane, 
dashing  through  the  air,  even  through  high  wind, 
would  bring  the  line  that  means  life  to  helpless 
men  clinging  to  a  wreck. 

I  am  awaiting  with  earnest  expectation  the  first 
time  that  an  aeroplane  actually  saves  a  life ;  when 
that  takes  place,  it  will  have  conquered  the  heart 
of  the  people  as  well  as  fascinated  its  intellect, 
aroused  its  awe,  or  compelled  its  admiration. 
The  first  period  of  enthusiastic  acceptance  of  the 
new  machine  has  been  succeeded  in  the  mind  of 
the  general  non-flying  public  by  an  admiration  not 
at  all  like  affection. 

Realising  how  many  lives  have  been  given  to 
its  development,  feeling  that  the  aviator  takes,  as 
they  call  it,  "his  life  in  his  hands, "  the  crowd  at 
a  flying-meet  feels  with  all  its  great  and  growing 


182     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

interest,  an  attraction  in  which  figures  not  a  little 
fear  and  distrust.  The  first  time  that  an  aero- 
plane saves  a  life — as  it  can  and  will  do  many 
times — it  will  have  begun  to  conquer  this  public 
distrust.  That  is  why  the  exploit  of  the  hydro- 
aeroplane already  described,  in  coming  first  to  the 
aid  of  the  aviator  in  the  water,  had  a  value  far 
greater  than  its  apparent  importance.1 

i  A  very  important  service  was  rendered  only  a  short  time  ago 
by  the  hydroaeroplane  which  might  easily  have  served  to  save  a 
human  life  if  the  accident  had  been  more  serious  than  it  actually 
was.  Mr.  Hugh  Robinson  the  instructor  of  the  Curtiss  hydro- 
aeroplane school  was  having  Sunday  dinner  at  the  hotel  in  Ham- 
mondsport,  where  Dr.  P.  L.  Alden,  one  of  the  well-known  physicians 
of  that  place,  was  also  eating  dinner,  when  the  doctor  received  a 
telephone  message  that  Mr.  Edwin  Petrie's  little  son  had.  fallen 
from  the  steps  of  the  Urbana  Wine  Company  at  Urbana,  five  miles 
down  the  lake,  and  had  a  compound  fracture  of  his  thigh  with  a 
serious  hemorrhage.  It  was  a  very  serious  injury  and  the  little 
fellow  was  in  intense  pain,  and  Mr.  Petrie  asked  the  doctor  to 
come  as  quickly  as  he  possibly  could. 

Dr.  Alden  realised  the  urgency  of  the  situation  and  knew  that 
delay  might  mean  serious  results  from  hemorrhage,  so  he  went 
immediately  over  to  Mr.  Robinson  and  asked  if  he  would  take  him 
across  the  lake  in  the  hydroaeroplane  right  away.  Mr.  Robinson 
said,  "I  will  be  ready  in  five  minutes;  just  as  soon  as  you  can 
get  over  to  the  field." 

Dr.  Alden  got  his  bandages  and  instruments  and  hurried  down 
to  the  shed  where  Mr.  Robinson  had  already  gotten  out  the  hydro ; 
he  jumped  in  and  they  were  off  without  a  moment's  delay.  They 
covered  the  five  miles  in  five  minutes,  at  times  running  on  the 
surface  of  the  lake  because  the  wind  was  blowing  so  strong;  as 
they  ran  up  on  the  beach  the  doctor  jumped  out  and  hastened  to 
his  patient. 

The  boy  was  so  much  interested  in  the  fact  that  he  was  the  first 


AEROPLANE  SURPRISES  183 

EXPLORING  AND  ESCAPE  FROM  DANGER 

The  aeroplane  will  find  one  of  its  important 
uses  not  only  in  taking  pictures  of  inaccessible 
spots,  but  also  in  crossing  otherwise  impassable 
places,  especially  in  times  of  pressing  need  when 
fire,  earthquake,  volcanic  eruptions  that  leave 
beds  of  molten  lava,  explosions,  pestilences, 
floods,  or  other  devastations  occur,  and  quick  as- 
sistance is  necessary. 

In  engineering  and  mining  matters,  the  aero- 
plane may  be  of  assistance  in  exploring  the  best 
places  to  locate  the  route  for  railroads  through 
mountain  passes  and  into  such  places  as  "  Death 
Valley "  where  the  salt  deposits  are  located. 

TRAVEL 

An  important  field  in  the  sporting  world  of  avi- 
ation of  course  will  be  carrying  passengers  and 
initiating  novices  into  the  mysteries  of  the  air 
lanes  and  into  the  pleasures  of  aerial  touring. 

In  this  delightful  method  of  travel  the  pano- 
rama below  is  equal  to  any  of  the  magnificent 

patient  to  be  treated  by  a  hydroaeroplane  doctor,  and  so  fas- 
cinated at  hearing  Dr.  Alden  tell  about  the  trip,  that  he  forgot  for 
the  moment  the  seriousness  of  his  condition  and  allowed  the  doc- 
tor to  reduce  the  fracture  without  an  anesthetic.  When  all  that 
could  be  done  just  then  had  been  done,  Dr.  Alden  and  Mr.  Robin- 
son returned  in  the  hydroaeroplane  as  rapidly  as  they  had 
come  on  their  errand  of  humanity,  and  at  last  accounts  young  Mr. 
Petrie  was  getting  well  as  fast  as  he  could  so  he  could  have  a  ride 
in  the  hydroaeroplane  himself! — AUGUSTUS  POST. 


184     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

landscapes  which  may  be  seen  from  high  moun- 
tains and  besides,  the  view  is  attended  by  most 
delicious  thrills  and  sensations,  and  when  a  good 
pilot  is  in  control  of  the  machine  the  passenger  is 
sure  of  a  pastime  absolutely  unequalled  for  mere 
joy,  aside  from  further  use  or  benefit  it  may  have. 

While  travelling  over  torrid  places  like  deserts 
and  arid  wastes,  as  well  as  burning  prairies,  the 
aviator  can  fly  high  where  the  air  is  cool  and 
clear  and  escape  the  great  humidity  and  the 
deadly  alkali  dust. 

As  for  mountain  climbing,  it  will  have  lost  its 
peculiar  fascination  when  the  aeroplane  will  be 
to  mountains  what  the  elevator  is  to  high  build- 
ings. The  landscape  has  a  greater,  far  greater 
beauty;  for  an  aviator  can  see  a  great  distance 
over  a  level  plane.  At  the  height  of  one  mile  you 
can,  theoretically,  see  ninety-six  miles  in  every 
direction  and  as  you  ascend  the  distance  to  the 
horizon  becomes  greater.  In  hilly  country,  one 
hill  hides  another  when  you  look  from  the  ground, 
but  when  you  are  high  up  in  the  sky,  like  the  eagle, 
the  mountains  all  seem  to  lose  their  height  and 
appear  flat  and  naturally  your  view  is  unob- 
structed. 

At  great  altitudes  the  sky  becomes  very  deep 
blue  and  if  you  kept  going  up  you  would  reach  a 
point  finally  where  the  sky  became  black  and  the 
sun  appeared  like  a  ball  of  fire  all  by  itself  as  a 
candle  flame  does  in  the  dark. 


AEROPLANE  SURPRISES  185 


FOR  HEALTH 

In  these  regions  there  is  no  dust  in  the  air  to 
diffuse  the  light  and  the  air  is  dry  and  conse- 
quently excellent  for  persons  with  lung  trouble. 
There  is  even  a  possibility  that  physicians  will- 
advise  patients  suffering  from  tuberculosis  to  as- 
cend to  these  high  altitudes,  and  it  is  a  fact  that 
Hubert  Latham  was  threatened  with  this  disease, 
yet  enjoyed  good  health  after  taking  up  aviation, 
only  to  be  killed  by  a  wild  buffalo,  as  related. 
Perhaps  this  is  one  of  those  cases  I  was  looking 
for  where  the  aeroplane  has  saved  a  life. 

METEOROLOGY 

An  aeroplane  will  bring  quick  reports  of 
changes  in  the  weather.  Rapid  investigations  of 
conditions  which  exist  in  the  strata  of  air  at  vary- 
ing altitudes  above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  made 
by  the  use  of  flying  machines,  may  lend  us  mate- 
rial aid  in  understanding  those  conditions  which 
are  closer  to  earth. 

The  study  of  the  weather  and  meteorological 
conditions  becomes  of  greater  and  greater  im- 
portance as  the  progress  in  the  science  of  avia- 
tion advances.  The  currents  of  air  that  are  reg- 
ular in  their  direction  of  movement,  like  the  trade 
winds,  must  be  mapped  and  charted,  for  with  the 
aid  of  a  strong  wind  an  aviator  can  make  mar- 
vellous speed,  as  the  speed  of  the  wind  is  added 


186     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

to  the  speed  of  his  machine  and  with  an  aeroplane 
capable  of  making  one  hundred  miles  an  hour  a 
favourable  wind  of  fifty  miles  an  hour  would  in- 
crease the  total  speed  by  one  half.  For  the  wind 
is  now  no  longer  an  obstacle  to  flight,  and  as  I 
have  already  noted  at  the  beginning  of  this  chap- 
ter, this  is  one  of  the  most  noticeable  advance- 
ments in  aviation,  one  that  can  readily  be  seen, 
understood,  and  appreciated  even  by  the  uniniti- 
ated. 

THE  TENDENCY  TOWARD  HYDROS 

There  is  always  more  or  less  danger  in  flying 
over  land,  and  the  rougher  its  surface  the  more 
difficult  and  dangerous  the  matter  of  landing. 
The  safest  place  and  the  most  uniform  surface  is 
to  be  found  over  the  water,  and  there  is  much  less 
danger  to  the  aviator  flying  there  than  over  the 
land.  The  strength  of  the  wind  can  be  easily 
judged  by  the  height  of  the  waves,  and  squalls 
and  puffs  can  be  seen  coming  so  that  if  they  seem 
to  be  very  bad  you  can  come  down  on  the  surface 
of  the  water  or  skim  along  very  near  it  with  the 
greatest  safety,  if  you  are  in  a  hydroaeroplane. 
Eivers  will  no  doubt  become  the  favourite  high- 
ways of  travel  for  the  airman,  as  they  were  once 
the  only  great  avenues  for  the  march  of  civil- 
isation when  the  canoe  or  the  rude  boat  was  the 
only  vehicle  of  transportation.  This  brings  us 
naturally  to  another  consideration  of  the  air-land- 
water  machine. 


CHAPTER  HI 

THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  HYDRO 

THE  most  interesting  type  of  flying  machine 
for  sport  and  pleasure  is  the  hydroaero- 
plane, and  this  is  undoubtedly  the  machine  with 
the  greatest  possibilities  for  the  future.  Indeed, 
it  opens  up  an  entirely  new  region  of  activity,  as 
boundless  as  the  ocean  itself,  and  as  various  as 
the  different  bodies  of  water.  Built  along  the 
lines  of  a  motor  boat  with  the  addition  of  aero- 
plane surfaces  or  horizontal  sails,  this  craft  will 
be  used  for  much  the  same  purposes  as  motor 
boats  are  now,  but  in  ways  immeasurably  more 
varied  and  more  effective. 

The  boat  portion  will  be  made  large  and  com- 
fortable for  pleasure  trips  and  will  be  a  veritable 
sportsman's  machine  which  can  be  run  up  to  a 
dock  where  it  can  make  an  easy  landing  and  be 
tied  up  when  not  anchored  out  from  shore.  There 
will  be  a  comfortable  cabin,  with  cushioned  seats 
for  the  navigators,  and  celluloid  windows  will  be 
placed  in  the  planes,  so  that  the  view  below  will 
not  be  obstructed.  It  will  be  handled  in  heavy 
seas  without  difficulty. 

With  such  an  air  and  water  craft  you  can  go  off 
187 


188     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

hunting  or  fishing;  you  can  shoot  ducks  and  you 
will  not  have  to  wait  until  Mr.  Duck  comes  by  but 
you  will  be  able  to  reverse  the  present  custom  and 
chase  him  in  his  native  element  and  overtake  him, 
too,  as  you  would  a  fox  on  horseback.  By  rising 
to  a  good  height  you  can  see  schools  of  fish  or 
good  places  on  the  bottom  to  cast  your  lines  for 
fishing. 

Inland  lakes  will  be  just  the  place  for  the  water 
machine  and  even  among  the  mountains  the 
surface  of  lakes  will  offer  ideal  places  for  landing 
and  starting,  even  where  the  shores  are  quite  out 
of  the  question  for  safe  flying  ground. 

The  construction  of  the  hydroaeroplane,  while 
keeping  on  the  same  general  lines  of  development, 
will  adapt  itself  to  the  exigencies  arising  from  its 
extended  uses.  The  propeller  or  propellers  will 
be  protected  from  the  flying  spray  which  might 
break  them — for  small  drops  of  water  are  like 
bullets  out  of  a  gun  when  hit  by  the  rapidly  re- 
volving blades  of  the  propeller  which  travel  so 
fast  that  water  might  just  as  well  be  solid  matter 
as  far  as  getting  out  of  the  way  is  concerned. 
Spray  will  chip  pieces  right  out  of  a  wooden  pro- 
peller. Propeller  blades  are  now  covered  with  tin 
on  the  tips  for  use  on  the  water,  and  even  metal 
blades  may  be  better  in  some  respects  for  this  pur- 
pose. The  control  and  rudders  are  placed  on  the 
rear  of  the  long  light  boat,  which  extends  further 
to  the  rear  to  accommodate  them. 


THE  FUTUEE  OF  THE  HYDRO   189 

The  radius  of  action  in  the  hydroaeroplane  is 
now  from  four  hundred  to  five  hundred  miles,  for 
the  machine  can  carry  a  barrel  of  gasoline,  or 
fifty-two  gallons,  and  as  the  engine  uses  about 
seven  gallons  an  hour  this  would  mean  about 
seven  hours  running  at  from  fifty  to  sixty  miles 
an  hour  in  still  air;  if  the  wind  were  blowing 
twenty-five  miles  an  hour  in  the  direction  in  which 
the  machine  was  flying  it  would  add  two  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  to  the  distance  covered  in  ten 
hours. 

These  machines  can  be  equipped  with  more 
surface  and  they  can  be  specially  built  to  carry  as 
much  as  two  barrels  of  fuel,  which  would  enable 
them  to  fly  nearly  twelve  hundred  miles  if  the  wind 
were  steady.  They  can  also  fly  in  very  high  winds 
up  to  almost  one  hundred  miles  an  hour,  which  is 
the  speed  at  which  some  of  the  higher  air  currents 
flow,  as  proved  by  the  flight  of  balloons.  This 
would  of  course  tremendously  increase  the  dis- 
tance covered.  All  this  is  possible  to-day  and  it 
seems  that  the  aeroplane  has  already  done  every 
thing  possible  to  be  done  on  land.  Bleriot 
crossed  the  English  channel,  Chavez  crossed  the 
Alps,  and  Eodgers  crossed  the  American  conti- 
nent, passing  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  mak- 
ing over  four  thousand  miles  in  the  air. 

The  only  thing  now  left  is  to  cross  the  ocean. 
An  attempt  has  been  made  to  cross  the  Atlantic 
in  a  dirigible  balloon.  You  all  remember  how 


190     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Walter  Wellman  flew  out  over  the  ocean  from  At- 
lantic City  in  one  of  the  largest  dirigible  balloons 
ever  constructed  here,  the  "America,"  remained 
three  days  in  the  air,  and  covered  over  twelve  hun- 
dred miles,  even  though  his  motors  were  running 
only  a  part  of  the  time. 

He  was  fortunate  enough  to  be  rescued  and 
brought  back  to  land  by  the  steamer  Trent.  And 
nothing  daunted,  his  chief  engineer  Melville  Vani- 
man  constructed  another  large  dirigible  the 
"Akron,"  on  which  he  met  such  an  untimely  end. 

Another  entrant  in  the  world  race  to  cross  the 
ocean  is  Dr.  Gans  who,  with  the  backing  of  the 
German  government,  plans  to  start  in  his  dirigi- 
ble balloon  the  "Suchard"  from  the  Island  of 
TenerifFe,  one  of  the  Azores,  to  attempt  the  cross- 
ing of  the  Southern  Atlantic.  He  will  endeavour 
to  be  the  "Columbus  of  the  air"  and  be  wafted 
above  the  waves  by  the  selfsame  winds  which  al- 
ways blow  in  that  part  of  the  ocean  to  the  West 
Indies,  just  as  the  first  man  to  accomplish  this 
passage  was  driven  over  the  surface  of  the  sea 
with  his  small  ships.  Such  great  enterprises  bid 
fair  to  embolden  aviators  in  their  aeroplanes  to 
try  to  win  the  laurels  due  the  first  to  be  success- 
ful. 

Many  aeronauts  and  aviators  seem  to  be  fo- 
cussing their  minds  at  the  present  moment  on  this 
great  problem.  It  seems  always  a  condition  nec- 
essary to  precede  the  accomplishment  of  any  great 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  HYDRO   191 

thing  that  popular  thought  should  be  centred 
upon  it;  then  some  one  rises  to  the  occasion  and 
the  thing  is  done.  There  is  no  doubt  that  such  a 
flight  is  possible  to-day,  just  as  the  flight  across 
the  United  States  was  possible  in  even  the  early 
stages  of  aviation.  For  the  machine  and  motor 
which  actually  accomplished  this  trip  were  almost 
the  same  as  the  very  first  models ;  but  it  took  the 
man  to  do  it. 

It  will  no  doubt  necessitate  a  double  machine, 
and  will  need  two  pilots,  one  to  relieve  the  other, 
and  possibly  several  engines  to  ensure  against 
stopping  of  the  motor.  Mr.  Grahame-White  has 
predicted  that  within  twenty  years  we  will  be  fly- 
ing across  the  Atlantic  in  fifteen  hours  upon  reg- 
ular schedule  between  London  and  New  York. 
Mr.  Grahame-White  once  even  went  so  far  as  to 
say  that  the  ocean  in  a  few  years  would  only  be 
used  "to  bathe  in" — but  I  think  he  might  have 
added  "and  to  fish  in,"  and  left  us  that  consola- 
tion ! 

Perhaps,  backed  by  government  aid,  and  with 
the  co-operation  of  their  naval  vessels,  a  chain  of 
ships  could  be  stretched  across  the  ocean,  which 
would  make  it  possible  even  now  to  fly  with  safety 
over  the  distance  between  Nova  Scotia  and  Ire- 
land, about  two  thousand  miles.  Already,  Mr. 
Atwood  who  flew  from  St.  Louis  to  New  York,  and 
Mr.  James  V.  Martin,  have  seriously  planned 
such  a  trip.  Mr.  Martin  has  submitted  his  plans 


192     THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

to  the  Eoyal  Aero  Club  of  England.  He  pro- 
poses to  keep  in  the  track  of  steamers  and  to  en- 
deavour to  secure  the  most  favourable  wind  con- 
ditions possible.  His  machine  is  designed  to 
have  large  floats  and  five  powerful  engines. 

Storms  pass  across  the  ocean  with  great 
rapidity  and  a  fifty-mile-an-hour  wind  would  so 
increase  the  speed  of  an  aeroplane  as  materially 
to  help  it  on  its  journey. 

The  accomplishment  of  this  great  flight  over 
the  ocean  will  no  doubt  mean  great  things  for  the 
progress  of  the  world  but  it  also  will  require  fur- 
ther development  along  the  lines  of  a  flying  boat, 
where  a  substantial  vessel  will  be  provided,  able 
to  stand  rough  sea  and  yet  able  to  rise  and  skim 
the  surface  of  the  water. 

Following  up  the  success  of  my  new  hydroaero- 
plane, I  have  taken  great  interest  in  the  idea  of  a 
flight  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean  by  aeroplane.  I 
consider  the  flight  possible,  and  I  am  willing  to 
undertake  the  construction  of  a  machine  for  the 
purpose,  provided  any  of  the  aviators  now  con- 
sidering flight  wish  me  to  do  so.  I  am  not  pre- 
pared to  give  the  details  of  such  a  machine  as 
would  be  required  to  make  the  flight,  but  I  simply 
express  the  opinion  that  the  feat  is  possible  and 
that  under  certain  conditions  I  will  undertake  to 
furnish  the  equipment. 


CHAPTEE  IV 

FUTURE  PROBLEMS  OF  AVIATION 

IN  a  consideration  of  the  final  structure  of  the 
Coming  Aeroplane,  we  pass  into  the  realm  of 
pure  prophecy,  for  the  aerial  liners  and  dread- 
naughts  of  the  future  are  still  snug  in  the  brains 
of  men  like  Eudyard  Kipling  or  H.  G.  Wells.  My 
part  in  the  consideration  of  what  is  coming  is 
here  confined  to  the  consideration  of  the  imme- 
diate, or  at  least  the  not  far  distant,  future. 

Biplanes  will  always  be  the  standard  machines 
in  my  opinion,  because  you  can  get  more  support- 
ing surface  for  the  same  weight. 

Surfaces  may  be  set  one  far  out  in  front  of  the 
other,  as  Farman  has  done,  but  with  three  surfaces 
the  third  requires  a  full  set  of  struts  and  wires 
and  just  as  much  weight  as  for  two  ordinary  sur- 
faces, and  adds  only  one  half  more  surface,  and 
the  head  resistance  is  also  increased  once  again. 
Surfaces  no  doubt  will  be  made  larger  and  ma- 
chines much  bigger  in  every  way  will  be  built. 

Telescoping  wings  may  be  a  feature  of  the  fu- 
ture machines,  so  that  a  graduated  area  of  wing 
surface  can  be  readily  obtained  and  changed  for 
slow  or  high  speed. 

193 


194     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

The  limousine,  or  enclosed-cabin  body,  will  be 
a  familiar  sight  in  the  future  machines  built  for 
passenger-carrying.  These  cabins  will  be  pro- 
vided with  comfortable  seats. 

AUTOMATIC    STABILITY 

In  regard  to  the  question  of  automatic  stability, 
or  some  device  to  balance  the  machine  automat- 
ically, there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  this  prob- 
lem will  be  solved ;  in  fact  it  is  already  solved  both 
for  balancing  laterally  and  keeping  the  machine 
from  tipping  sideways  and  also  to  govern  its  fore 
and  aft  pitching. 

These  devices  may  be  of  value  in  learning  to 
fly.  But  in  the  practical  use  of  the  aeroplane 
you  may  see  conditions  arising  which  you  wish 
to  counteract  before  they  occur  and  for  which 
you  wish  to  prepare.  Automatic  stabilisers  will 
no  doubt  prove  very  good  auxiliary  devices,  and 
some  aeroplanes  will  have  automatic  stabilisers 
on  them  before  this  is  printed,  but  the  aviator  will 
no  doubt  have  to  regulate  the  regulators  in  the  fu- 
ture as  he  operates  the  levers  personally  in  the 
present. 

AVIATION   LAWS  TO   COMB 

The  making  of  good  laws  is  not  to  be  overlooked 
when  considering  the  future  development  of  the 
aeroplane,  for  aviators  must  be  protected  from 
themselves,  and  the  public  must  be  protected  from 


FUTURE  PROBLEMS  195 

the  rashness  or  inexperience  of  airmen.  Almost 
all  nations  have  already  begun  to  exercise  control 
over  their  new  territory,  the  air,  and  are  realising 
that  it  may  become  one  of  their  most  valued  pos- 
sessions and  of  an  importance  equal  to  their  do- 
main over  water.  For  a  nation  without  any  sea- 
coast  may  no  longer  be  cut  off  from  direct  inter- 
course with  the  world  through  the  aerial  craft 
which  can  enter  and  leave  at  will,  as  vessels  now 
do  on  the  sea,  with  no  chance  of  a  neighbouring 
nation  restricting  this  very  freedom. 

Laws  are  rapidly  being  passed  by  states  regu- 
lating and  licensing  aviators  and  requiring  lights 
to  be  carried,  but  it  seems  that  the  federal  govern- 
ment should  be  the  power  that  should  control 
the  air  just  as  it  does  the  sea  and  navigable  riv- 
ers. For  fliers  flit  about  so  that  the  whole  coun- 
try seems  but  a  mere  playground  for  men  of  the 
air. 

Already  the  California  legislature  has  made 
several  laws  to  protect  the  aeroplane  and  the  avia- 
tor, as  well  as  to  safeguard  the  larger  public 
that  stays  on  the  ground.  Some  of  these  laws 
may  seem  a  little  premature,  but  everything  about 
aeroplanes  goes  so  fast,  that  there  is  no  wonder 
the  laws  instead  of  lagging  behind  conditions  as 
they  usually  do,  should  speed  up  a  little  ahead 
of  them,  for  the  progress  of  flight  is  such  that  by 
the  time  the  law  gets  on  the  statute  books  the  con- 
ditions may  be  calling  for  it.  For  instance,  bills 


196     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

have  been  introduced  at  Sacramento  to  regulate 
the  licensing  of  aeroplanes,  which  are  to  be  classed 
as  " motor  vehicles,"  and  to  carry  numbers  and 
lights,  the  same  as  automobiles.  The  idea  of  pro- 
viding for  lights  seems  a  little  far-fetched  at  this 
time,  as  it  will  be  a  long  time  before  there  will  be 
much  flying  at  night.  Besides,  such  lights  as  the 
proposed  law  provides  would  be  unnecessary,  for 
the  reason  that  the  aeroplane  would  not  be  con- 
fined to  an  arbitrary  path,  but  could  choose  its 
own  course.  Therefore,  a  single  light  in  front 
and  another  behind  would  be  all  that  would  be  re- 
quired, instead  of  one  pair  in  front,  one  behind 
and  one  on  each  plane,  as  the  bill  suggests. 

FUTURE    COST   OF    THE   AEROPLANE 

The  cost  of  the  machine  is  high  at  the  present 
time  because  there  are  but  few  made.  No  doubt 
when  the  great  numbers  of  people  who  are  now 
deeply  interested  in  the  subject  get  to  the  point  of 
practical  flight  and  desire  to  take  flights,  they 
will  want  to  own  machines,  and  learn  to  operate 
them.  Then  aeroplanes  will  be  made  in  quantities 
and  the  price  will  be  reduced  in  accord  with  the 
number  that  are  built  and  some  day  we  will  be 
able  to  buy  a  good  aeroplane  for  about  the  price 
we  have  to  pay  now  for  a  small  automobile. 

Cortlandt  Field  Bishop  is  credited  with  having 
said  when  some  one  asked  him  if  the  manufacture 
of  a  cheap  aeroplane,  to  cost  $150,  including  the 


FUTUEE  PROBLEMS  197 

motor,  would  not  be  a  great  business  undertaking, 
"Well,  a  great  undertaking  business  should  cer- 
tainly come  of  it." 

LANDING  PLACES 

The  most  serious  problem  of  flying  to-day  is  to 
find  a  good  course  to  fly  over  and  suitable  landing 
places.  The  day  will  soon  come  when  every  city 
and  town  will  have  public  landing  and  starting 
grounds.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  park  commis- 
sioners of  New  York  City  have  already  been  dis- 
cussing the  setting  apart  of  landing  places  or  isles 
of  safety  in  the  public  parks  of  the  city,  although 
some  authorities  declare  that  it  would  not  be  well 
to  encourage  fliers  to  risk  themselves  and  the  peo- 
ple below  by  flying  over  the  houses.  There  should 
be  routes  of  travel  established  between  cities  over 
which  an  aviator  will  have  a  right  to  fly,  just  as 
there  are  highways  on  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

GOVEKNMENT    ENCOURAGEMENT 

Perhaps  the  greatest  factor  which  is  needed 
to  further  the  development  of  the  aeroplane  to- 
day is  the  thorough  appreciation  by  the  National 
Government  of  the  benefits  which  the  aeroplane 
may  bring  to  its  various  departments  besides  the 
military  and  postal  service. 

When  railroads  first  became  practical  the  gov- 
ernment gave  millions  of  dollars  besides  large 
grants  of  land  to  enable  them  to  extend  and  de- 


198     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

velop  to  a  successful  state.  Steamship  building 
was  helped  in  the  same  way  both  by  government 
aid  and  by  the  building  of  warships  and  trans- 
ports. 

The  French  Government  continues  to  lead  the 
world  in  its  encouragement  of  aviation.  During 
the  month  of  December,  1911,  according  to  most 
reliable  statistics,  the  War  Department  ordered 
no  less  than  four  hundred  new  aeroplanes,  divided 
between  a  dozen  or  more  types,  and  asked  the  gov- 
ernment to  appropriate  the  sum  of  $4,400,000  for 
aeronautics.  Italy,  next  to  France,  is  the  most 
active  European  government  in  aviation,  the  Ital- 
ian War  Department  having  ordered  fifty  French 
machines  of  various  types,  as  well  as  twelve  aero- 
planes of  a  new  type  produced  in  Austria.  The 
Turkish  government  has  decided  to  establish 
schools  for  the  "fourth  arm"  immediately,  while 
Eussia  will  also  increase  its  aviation  programme. 
The  latest  government  to  take  up  aviation  is  that 
of  Australia,  where  an  aviation  school  is  about  to 
open  for  the  instruction  of  army  officers.  Ger- 
many is  not  as  active  in  aviation  as  the  other 
principal  European  governments,  although  it  is 
difficult  to  say  exactly  what  is  being  done  by  the 
Germans,  as  they  purchase  machines  made  in 
their  own  country  only. 

A  most  interesting  programme  was  arranged  by 
the  British  military  authorities  for  the  trial  of 
machines  in  competition  in  the  summer  of  1912,  at 


FUTURE  PROBLEMS  199 

Salisbury  Plain,  in  order  to  determine  the  best 
types  of  military  aeroplane.  The  winning  types 
in  this  contest  will  receive  large  orders  from  the 
British  government  to  supply  the  Army  and  Navy 
with  aerial  equipment. 

FIRST  AVIATION  REGIMENT 
(Newspaper  Despatch) 

PARIS,   Jan.    25,   1912.— The   first   aviation   regiment,   327 
strong,  was  organised  here  to-day. 
A  flag  will  be  presented  to  the  battalion  later  on. 

Having  already  organised  an  aviation  regi- 
ment, French  army  officers  are  now  agitating  the 
question  upon  the  basis  of  having  no  less  than  a 
thousand  aeroplanes  ready  at  a  moment's  notice 
under  the  command  of  superior  officers  and  under 
perfect  control  of  army  pilots  trained  to  handle 
them.  This  training  of  officers  is  the  most  im- 
portant part,  for  it  takes  time  to  make  good  fliers. 
Machines  may  be  turned  out  very  rapidly,  but 
fliers  become  skilled  to  the  point  where  they  may 
be  of  use  in  army  work  only  by  long  practice  and 
practical  experience.  Our  government  has  given 
an  appropriation,  small  in  comparison  with  what 
France,  Germany  and  England  appropriated,  and 
we  have  a  few  aeroplanes  in  the  signal  corps  of 
the  Army  now  and  three  machines  in  the  Navy, 
but  these  are  only  the  first  steps  in  this  important 
branch  of  our  military  and  naval  development. 
We  all  hope  for  at  least  adequate  equipment,  an 


200     THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

equipment  that  will  equal,  if  not  surpass,  that  of 
the  European  powers. 

After  the  development  of  the  aeroplane  for 
sport  and  commercial  purposes,  its  greatest  field 
of  growth  is  for  purposes  of  war  and  here  we  find 
that  the  aeroplane  can  be  at  once  the  most  deadly 
weapon  of  offensive  warfare  as  yet  developed  by 
man,  and  an  even  more  serviceable  agent  for  de- 
fensive measures,  or  for  all  those  most  important 
duties  related  to  scouting  and  obtaining  and  carry- 
ing information. 

WHAT  THE  AEROPLANE  CAN  DO  IN  WAR 

I  feel  confident  that  an  aeroplane  can  be  even 
now  built  which  will  be  able  to  lift  a  ton  of  dyna- 
mite or  other  high  explosive,  and  that  it  can  be  so 
constructed  that  it  will  be  an  aerial  torpedo  or 
winged  projectile,  the  engine  charged  with  com- 
pressed air  and  set  to  run  any  required  distance, 
from  one  mile  to  ten  miles.  Such  a  machine  can 
be  steered  by  wireless  controlling  apparatus  just 
as  submarine  boats  and  small  airships  are  di- 
rected. 

A  hydroaeroplane  can  be  made  to  fly  at  just  a 
certain  height  over  the  water  by  attaching  it  to  a 
drag  or  a  float  which  would  prevent  its  exceeding 
the  desired  limit  of  altitude.  The  machine  so 
equipped  might  be  started  in  a  circle  and  flown 
around  in  a  circular  course  gradually  widening 


FUTUEE  PEOBLEMS  201 

and  widening,  like  a  bird  dog  hunting  a  scent,  until 
the  object  aimed  at  is  hit. 

One  of  the  most  important  uses  of  an  aeroplane 
adapted  to  the  uses  of  the  Navy  will  be  its  valua- 
ble assistance  in  enabling  the  manner  of  forma- 
tion of  the  enemy's  ships  in  line  of  battle  to  be 
made  known  to  the  commanding  officer  and  the 
angle  of  approach  to  be  estimated,  in  order  that 
our  own  ships  may  be  so  formed  in  line  of  battle 
as  to  meet  the  brunt  of  the  attack  effectually. 

An  aeroplane  launched  from  the  deck  of  a  bat- 
tleship and  ascending  to  the  height  of  a  mile  will 
give  the  observers  on  board  a  range  of  vision  of 
ninety-six  miles  in  every  direction  and  powerful 
glasses  will  reveal  many  details  that  can  be  seen 
more  clearly  from  above  than  when  observed  from 
the  same  level.  Submarines  can  be  located  with 
great  ease  when  far  below  the  surface  of  the  wa- 
ter. Even  the  bottom  appears  clearly  in  some 
of  the  tropic  seas,  and  fogs,  which  obscure  all 
things  to  the  enveloped  mariner  bound  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  sea,  usually  hang  comparatively  low 
down  and  even  a  moderate  altitude  will  enable 
an  aerial  observer  or  pilot  to  see  clearly  above  the 
banks  of  mist  which  shut  down  like  a  pall  upon 
the  water. 

The  military  aeroplane  will  be  able  to  muffle  its 
motor  and  for  night  operations  will  be  equipped 
with  search-lights  and  able  to  approach  an  enemy 


202     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

unseen  and  unheard  from  a  high  altitude,  a  direc- 
tion in  which  there  are  no  pickets. 

In  the  school  machines  of  one  of  the  Chicago 
schools  the  motors  have  already  been  muffled  to 
permit  the  teacher  more  readily  giving  his  in- 
structions to  his  pupils.  U.  S.  Army  officers  have 
also  experimented  with  mufflers  on  their  motors. 

Aeroplanes  have  been  recently  used  by  the  Ital- 
ian Army  near  Tripoli  and  bombs  were  dropped 
which  not  only  frightened  the  enemy  but  stam- 
peded their  horses  and  caused  panic  among  the 
soldiers.  They  were  also  of  great  service  in  di- 
recting the  fire  of  the  guns  from  the  ships  which 
were  quite  out  of  sight  of  their  targets,  a  captive 
balloon  and  an  aeroplane  signalling  the  effect  of 
the  shots  and  the  angles  at  which  to  train  the  guns. 
The  aviators  took  steel  bomb-shells  with  them  and 
filled  them  while  flying,  holding  the  caps  in  their 
teeth,  and  steering  with  their  knees  while  per- 
forming this  operation.  They  did  not  dare  to 
carry  the  bombs  loaded  for  fear  of  being  blown 
to  pieces  themselves  in  case  of  an  accident  when 
landing. 

In  the  fall  of  1911,  extensive  tests  were  made 
by  the  French  military  authorities  which  showed 
how  reliable  aeroplanes  can  be.  The  aviators  flew 
at  the  command  of  officers  and  under  the  strictest 
orders;  the  machines  were  required  to  land  in 
ploughed  fields  and  to  start  away  again  with  their 
full  complement  of  passengers  and  extra  weight 


FUTUEE  PROBLEMS  203 

of  fuel.  All  the  machines  were  required  to  carry 
a  weight  of  about  five  hundred  pounds  and  to  rise 
to  a  certain  height  in  a  specified  time  with  their 
complete  load.  The  machines  were  also  dis- 
mounted and  assembled  in  the  field  and  packed 
and  transported  from  one  place  to  another,  to 
test  the  ease  with  which  this  could  be  done. 

These  military  tests  were  won  by  Charles  Wey- 
mann,  who  was  also  the  winner  of  the  Gordon 
Bennett  International  Aviation  Cup  for  America 
last  year. 

Mr.  Weymann  drove  a  special  Nieuport  ma- 
chine, which  was  the  most  speedy  type  of  aero- 
plane built  at  that  time,  and  was  successful  in 
landing  and  starting  from  a  ploughed  field,  which 
many  thought  impossible  for  a  very  fast  type  of 
machine.  It  took  the  greatest  skill  to  land  such 
a  speedy  machine  on  rough  ground,  for  he  had  to 
glide  down  with  absolute  accuracy,  to  land  with- 
out a  smash. 

Among  Army  officers  the  keenest  competition  is 
developed,  and  it  is  only  by  a  spirit  of  rivalry 
and  a  desire  to  excel  that  the  best  qualities  in  offi- 
cers and  men  are  brought  out  in  times  of  peace. 
Of  course  in  time  of  war  there  is  a  need  which 
calls  for  the  best  there  is  in  a  man. 

The  needs  of  the  Army  and  Navy  aviators  have 
developed  some  special  features  in  machines  built 
for  their  purposes.  They  want  to  be  as  far  out  in 
front  of  the  machine  as  possible  so  they  can  have 


204     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

an  unobstructed  view,  and  so  that  if  they  should 
be  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  pitched  out,  they  will 
be  quite  clear  of  everything.  This  is  especially 
true  of  naval  machines  built  to  fly  over  the  water. 
Military  aeroplanes  also  should  have  a  standard 
method  of  control,  so  that  any  Army  or  Navy  avi- 
ator can  operate  any  Army  or  Navy  machine. 


CHAPTEE  V 

THE  AEROPLANE  AS  APPLIED  TO  THE  ARMY 
(By  Captain  Paul  W.  Beck,  U.  S.  A.)  1 

WHENEVEE  science  discovers  anything 
new  or  startling,  such  discovery  is  imme- 
diately tested  by  practical  men  of  commercial  or 
professional  life  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  it 
can  be  applied  to  their  business  or  profession. 
In  civil  life  these  tests  are  to  determine  whether 
or  not  this  new  discovery  can  be  applied  to 
cheapen  production  or  benefit  mankind  in  any 
other  way.  In  the  Army  two  tests  are  always 
applied:  first,  to  determine  whether  or  not  the 
discovery  can  be  used  to  kill  the  other  fellow  and, 
second,  to  determine  whether  or  not  it  can  be  used 
to  prevent  the  other  fellow  from  killing  us. 
These  are  the  tests  which  have  been  applied  to 
the  aeroplane  by  the  military.  Let  us  see  how 
these  heavier-than-air  machines  have  responded 
to  these  tests. 

Can  aeroplanes  be  used  to  kill  the  other  fellow? 

iln  July,  1912j  Captain  Beck  was  granted  by  the  War  De- 
partment the  title  of  "Military  Aviator";  the  first  time  that  any 
American  has  been  given  this  title,  which  implies  finished  skill 
in  both  aviation  and  military  tactics,  and  for  which  all  the  army 
aviators  are  to  qualify. — AUGUSTUS  POST. 

205 


206     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Our  problem  here  is  not  ethical  but  practical;  it 
is  not  based  on  the  determinations  of  the  Hague 
peace  convention,  but  upon  the  actual  capabilities 
of  the  machine  from  a  physical  standpoint,  con- 
sidered apart  from  humanitarian  principles.  In 
other  words  we  do  not  discuss  whether  or  not  it 
is  ethically  right  to  use  aeroplanes  aggressively, 
but  whether  or  not  aeroplanes  are  mechanically 
capable  of  such  use.  The  Army  does  not  disturb 
itself  with  ethical  questions  until  they  become 
rules  of  International  Law,  and  then  it  only  con- 
siders them  as  being  binding  in  their  actual  ob- 
servance under  the  conditions  imposed  by  such 
law.  Meanwhile  the  Army,  by  preparation  in 
time  of  peace,  seeks  to  gain  the  fullest  possible 
measure  of  information  along  the  lines  of  investi- 
gation necessitated  by  the  mechanical  side  of  the 
question. 

Considered  from  this  standpoint,  the  question 
is  repeated:  can  aeroplanes  be  used  to  kill  the 
other  fellow?  Well,  where  may  we  expect  to  meet 
this  other  fellow?  He  will  be  armed,  of  course. 
He  will  be  on  the  ground,  on  the  water,  or  in  the 
air.  Wherever  he  may  be  we  must  get  close 
enough  to  see  him,  while  we  must  remain  far 
enough  away  to  keep  him  from  having  a  decidedly 
better  chance  of  hitting  us  than  we  have  of  hit- 
ting him.  If  he  is  on  the  ground  or  on  the  water 
we  must  fly  over  him.  If  he  is  in  the  air  we  must 
manoeuvre  our  air  craft  so  as  to  gain  an  advan- 


AEMY  AVIATION  207 

tageous  position  over  him ;  one  where  we  can  shoot 
our  machine  guns  or  rifles  while  he  is  unable  to 
use  his  similar  weapons  against  us.  That  is 
where  skill  as  an  aviator  and  superiority  of  speed, 
climbing  powers,  and  control  of  the  machine  will 
play  a  prominent  part  in  deciding  the  supremacy 
of  the  air. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  location  of  the  en- 
emy the  problem  can  be  reduced  to  two  cases :  one, 
when  the  enemy  is  on  the  ground  or  on  the  water, 
and  the  other  when  he  is  in  the  air.  Against  him 
in  the  first  case  we  must  use  projectiles  dropped 
from  on  high.  These  may  be  shrapnel,  explosive 
shells  or  simply  large,  thinly  encased  masses  of 
high  explosive,  depending  on  whether  we  are  at- 
tacking individuals  or  animals  in  groups ;  gun  em- 
placements, bridges,  etc.,  or  important  strategical 
or  tactical  points  such  as  arsenals,  barracks,  or 
parts  of  a  defensive  line. 

Against  the  enemy  in  the  skies  we  must  use 
some  small  machine  gun  or  rifle,  in  an  endeavour 
to  brush  him  aside  and  allow  our  own  informa- 
tion-gathering aeroplanes  to  perform  their  func- 
tions unmolested. 

But  we  are  not  progressing.  Can  aeroplanes 
be  used  to  kill  the  other  fellow?  Well,  assuming 
him  to  be  located  as  we  have  assumed  him  to  be, 
there  are  several  other  questions  which  must  be 
answered  before  we  can  clinch  the  main  issue. 
Can  a  man  act  as  aviator  and  at  the  same  time 


208     THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

manipulate  the  mechanism  that  may  be  found 
necessary  to  the  killing  of  the  other  fellow?  If 
not,  can  an  aeroplane  be  built  that  will  carry  at 
least  two  men,  one  as  aviator  and  the  other  as 
manipulator  of  the  death-dealing  apparatus,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  carry  enough  extra  weight,  i.  e., 
fuel,  to  keep  aloft  long  enough  to  accomplish  the 
necessary  flight  and  also  carry  the  projectiles  and 
dropping  device?  Yes.  The  two  passengers 
may  be  estimated  to  weigh  three  hundred  pounds. 
The  dropping  device  may  be  estimated  to  weigh 
not  to  exceed  fifty  pounds.  At  least  three  known 
types  of  aeroplane  carry  six  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  of  weight  for  a  continuous  flight  of  two 
hundred  miles  in  length.  That  leaves  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds  that  can  be  devoted  to  the 
carrying  of  projectiles. 

So  far  the  coast  seems  clear,  but  a  small  storm 
appears  in  the  offing;  can  this  two  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds,  or  any  considerable  part  of  it,  be 
dropped  from  a  moving  aeroplane  without  dis- 
turbing its  equilibrium  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
render  the  machine  unmanageable?  Any  weight 
can  be  dropped  from  the  centre  of  lift  without 
disturbing  the  equilibrium.  Thirty-eight  pounds 
have  been  dropped  from  one  machine  from  a  point 
three  feet  in  front  of  the  centre  of  lift  without  dis- 
turbing the  equilibrium. 

Admitting  that  the  necessary  weight  can  be 
carried  and  can  be  dropped,  we  next  encounter 


AEMY  AVIATION  209 

the  highly  important  question,  what  can  we  hit 
from  a  height  of,  say,  three  thousand  five  hundred 
feet?  At  this  point  the  problem  becomes  one 
of  pure  fire  control,  and  is  directly  analogous  to 
target  practice  in  our  sea-coast  defences.  Since 
the  aeroplane  is  moving  forward  at  a  definite  rate 
of  speed  at  the  instant  of  dropping  the  projectile, 
it  follows  that  there  is  an  initial  velocity  given  to 
the  projectile.  This  velocity  is  dependent  upon 
the  forward  speed  of  the  machine  and  varies  with 
it.  Gravity  exerts  an  influence  on  the  drop  of  the 
projectile,  which  influence  increases  the  speed  of 
drop  as  the  altitude  from  which  the  shell  is 
dropped  increases.  The  direction  and  force  of 
the  wind  currents  through  which  the  projectile 
must  fall  are  variable  and  they  all  exert  influences 
tending  to  cause  the  projectile  to  swerve  from  its 
original  course  to  a  degree  dependent  upon  their 
strength  and  the  thickness  of  each  stratum  of  air. 
The  size  of  the  target  and,  if  it  be  animals  or  men, 
the  direction  and  rate  of  movement  of  the  target, 
are  all  factors  to  a  successful  hit. 

Practice  has  shown  us  that  the  principal  factors 
are  the  forward  speed  of  the  machine  and  the  alti- 
tude. The  variations  due  to  wind  currents 
through  which. the  projectile  must  pass  in  falling 
are  negligible.  The  only  targets  to  be  chosen  will 
be  sufficiently  large  and  immobile  to  warrant  an 
assumption  that  they  can  be  hit.  Aerial  target 
practice  will  never  degenerate  to  the  sniping  of  in- 


210     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

dividuals.  It  will  be  directed  against  ships,  small 
boats,  armies,  cavalry,  quartermaster  and  field  ar- 
tillery trains  and  similar  large  bodies  of  men  or 
animals,  or  against  the  strategical  and  tactical 
points  alluded  to  above. 

The  problem  then  simmers  itself  down  to  a  more 
or  less  accurate  solution  of  a  method  for  deter- 
mining the  forward  speed  of  the  machine  and  its 
altitude,  which,  with  a  suitable  set  of  tables  and 
suitable  mechanical  devices  for  releasing  the  pro- 
jectile at  the  proper  instant,  will  produce  a  rea- 
sonably good  target  practice. 

For  some  time  the  solution  of  the  forward  speed 
of  an  aeroplane  seemed  impracticable.  It  has 
now  been  solved  by  the  simple  use  of  a  telescope, 
mounted  on  a  gimbal  so  as  to  maintain  its  hori- 
zontal position  and  movable  vertically  along  a 
graduated  arc.  By  setting  the  telescope  to  read 
an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees  and  snapping  a 
stop  watch  on  an  object  which  lies  in  the  line  of 
sight  of  the  telescope — produced,  and  then  swing- 
ing the  telescope  so  as  to  point  vertically  down- 
ward, we  can,  by  snapping  the  stop  watch  a  sec- 
ond time  as  the  sighting  point  again  comes  into 
the  field  of  vision,  ascertain  the  exact  time  it  has 
taken  the  machine  to  cover  the  distance  measured 
by  forty-five  degrees  of  arc.  Our  altitude  is 
known  by  reading  a  barometer.  We  then  have 
two  known  angles  of  a  right  triangle  and  one 
known  side,  viz.,  the  altitude.  By  a  set  of  tables, 


AEMY  AVIATION  211 

already  made  out,  we  can  determine  our  forward 
speed. 

Now,  all  of  this  is  done  as  a  preliminary  to 
actually  dropping  the  projectile.  After  we  have 
the  forward  speed  and  the  altitude  we  simply  con- 
sult another  set  of  previously  prepared  tables  and 
read  from  those  tables  an  angle.  This  angle  shows 
the  proper  point  of  drop  to  hit  another  point  on 
the  ground  somewhere  in  advance  of  the  aero- 
plane. After  picking  the  angle  out  of  the  table 
we  set  our  telescope  to  read  the  known  angle  and, 
when  the  line  of  sight,  produced,  is  on  the  object- 
ive, we  release  or  "trip"  the  projectile.  This  has 
actually  been  done.  Now  I  ask  you  the  question, 
can  an  aeroplane  be  used  to  kill  the  other  fellow? 

Can  an  aeroplane  be  used  to  prevent  the  other 
fellow  from  killing  us?  Of  course  it  is  much  su- 
perior to  Santa  Ana's  mule  for  purposes  of  rapid 
departure  from  the  scene  of  hostilities,  but  that 
is  hardly  the  test  we  apply.  It  is,  on  the  other 
hand,  inferior  as  a  shield  to  the  ordinary  breast- 
works constructed  by  armies  in  the  field,  but, 
again,  that  is  not  precisely  the  test  to  be  applied. 

The  most  effective  way  in  which  we  can  keep 
the  other  fellow  from  killing  us  is  to  find  out  where 
he  is,  what  he  is  doing  and  how  he  proposes  to 
accomplish  his — to  us  reprehensible,  to  him  laud- 
able— object.  Accordingly  we  apply  the  informa- 
tion test  to  the  aeroplane.  Can  we  use  it  to  gather 


212     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

information  of  the  enemy,  his  lines  of  communi- 
cation, his  lines  of  defences,  his  probable  lines  of 
advance  or  retreat,  his  rail  and  water  communi- 
cations, his  artillery  positions  and  gun  emplace- 
ments, and  a  host  of  other  things,  all  of  which 
tend  to  produce  success  or  failure  in  battle?  In 
other  words,  can  we  use  the  aeroplane  to  prevent 
the  enemy  from  killing  us? 

In  order  to  make  use  of  information  there  are 
two  distinct  steps  which  must  be  taken:  First,  it 
must  be  gathered;  second,  it  must  be  communi- 
cated to  the  proper  officers  for  transmission  to 
the  Commanding  General  in  the  field.  No  infor- 
mation is  of  value  until  it  is  communicated  to  an 
officer  competent  to  act  upon  it. 

This  problem  of  information  is  then  divided  into 
two  parts :  the  getting,  and  the  transmitting.  In 
getting  information  we  must  at  once  settle  just 
how  far  the  aeroplane  will  be  available.  There 
is  a  certain  class  of  information,  i.  e.,  that  concern- 
ing the  road  beds  over  which  an  army  must  move, 
the  fords  it  must  cross,  the  bridges  it  must  travel 
over,  the  hills  and  valleys  that  might  afford  shel- 
ter for  an  offensive  force  or  may  be  used  de- 
fensively, the  location,  extent,  thickness  and 
amount  of  underbrush  in  woods,  and  much  other, 
intimate,  local  knowledge  that  is  of  great  and  in- 
dispensable value  to  a  commanding  officer  in  the 
field.  Such  information  can  be  gathered  only 
from  the  ground.  An  aeroplane  could  be  of  use 


AEMY  AVIATION  213 

in  such  gathering  only  as  a  means  for  transport- 
ing the  topographical  sketchers  quickly  from  point 
to  point,  allowing  them  sufficient  time  to  do  their 
work  before  again  taking  the  air.  Also  an  aero- 
plane would  be  of  but  little  use  in  locating  small 
bodies  of  the  enemy. 

Where  the  aeroplane  would  begin  to  be  of  use, 
however,  is  in  the  locating  of  the  main  body  of  the 
enemy,  his  defences,  his  artillery  positions,  in  de- 
termining the  outline  of  his  position,  the  natural 
or  artificial  boundaries  which  cover  and  protect 
his  flanks,  his  main  arteries  of  supply,  the  strong 
and  weak  points  of  his  line  of  defence,  etc. 

To  accomplish  these  results  the  aeroplane  must 
fly  at  a  sufficient  elevation  to  render  difficult  the 
hitting  of  a  vital  part  of  the  machine  or  the  avia- 
tor by  hostile  rifle  or  artillery  fire.  While  the 
modern  rifle  in  use  in  our  army  will  fire  a  ball 
about  three  thousand  five  hundred  yards  straight 
in  the  air,  it  is  generally  accepted  among  aviators 
that  an  aeroplane  would  be  practically  safe,  save 
from  a  chance  shot,  at  three  thousand  five  hundred 
feet.  Of  course  there  is  a  large  chance  that  if 
enough  rifles  are  directed  at  an  aeroplane  for  a 
long  enough  time  the  machine  or  operator  would 
be  hit,  at  this  altitude,  but  war  is  not  a  game  of 
croquet,  and  the  men  who  would  man  these  ma- 
chines in  war  would  stand  ready  to  take  the  risks 
demanded  by  the  exigencies  of  the  service. 

The  proper  machine  to  act  as  a  gatherer  of  in- 


214     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

formation  is  one  that  can  carry  a  pilot,  passenger, 
and  wireless  outfit.  It  is  proposed  to  equip  all 
information-gathering  machines  with  wireless 
and  to  this  end  a  special  set  has  been  devised  and 
is  being  tested  out  at  the  U.  S.  Army  Signal  Corps 
Aviation  School.  That  the  wireless  will  be  a  suc- 
cess there  is  no  doubt,  for  certain  simple  experi- 
ments with  crude  apparatus  have  been  already 
tried  out  with  remarkable  success. 

I  have  said  that  military  aviators  propose  to 
fly  at  about  three  thousand  five  hundred  feet  while 
seeking  information.  Perhaps  this  will  be  in- 
creased to  about  five  thousand  feet  if  it  can  be 
demonstrated  that  the  reconnaissance  officer  can 
clearly  discern,  from  that  height,  the  points  which 
are  of  military  value.  This  officer  will  be  aided 
by  powerful  field  glasses,  a  camera  and  sketching 
case,  and  he  will  have  at  hand  a  wireless  outfit 
which  he  can  use  in  sending  back  whatever  he  may 
ascertain  of  value.  Upon  reporting  back  to  the 
officer  who  sent  him  out  he  will  turn  over  his 
sketches  and  photographs.  It  is  thought  that  in 
this  way  very  complete  and  valuable  data  will  be 
available. 

From  an  aeroplane  or  balloon  the  ground  pre- 
sents a  very  different  appearance  than  it  does 
from  our  usual  man's  eye  view.  It  takes  time  and 
practice  to  determine  just  what  the  different 
strange-looking  objects  are,  let  alone  to  determine 
relative  sizes  and  distances.  On  this  account  we 


ARMY  AVIATION  215 

have  concluded  that  the  reconnaissance  officer  and 
pilot  must  both  be  trained  at  the  same  time. 
Since  this  is  the  case  and  since  there  is  a  decided 
mental  and  physical  strain  connected  with  long- 
continued  flight,  we  have  gone  further  and  con- 
cluded that  both  officers  who  fly  in  the  aeroplane 
must  be  pilots  and  both  must  be  trained  in  recon- 
naissance duty.  In  this  way  each  can  relieve  or 
"spell"  the  other. 

There  is  much  more  to  this  than  the  mere  act- 
ing as  an  aerial  chauffeur.  To  be  a  successful 
military  aviator  a  man  must  be  an  excellent  cross- 
country flier.  He  must  be  an  expert  topogra- 
pher or  sketcher,  he  must  understand  photography 
and  he  must  be  a  practical  wireless  operator, 
as  well  as  have  a  knowledge  of  the  theory  of 
wireless.  Above  all,  he  must  be  trained  in  mili- 
tary art,  that  most  elusive  of  all  subjects.  By 
that  we  mean  that  he  must  understand  the  mili- 
tary significance  of  what  he  sees,  he  must  under- 
stand the  powers,  limitations,  and  functions  of  the 
three  great  arms — infantry,  cavalry,  and  field  ar- 
tillery, whether  used  in  combination  or  sepa- 
rately; he  must  know  major  and  minor  tactics  to 
determine  the  worth  or  uselessness  of  a  position; 
he  must  be  able  quickly  and  accurately  to  reduce 
his  observations  to  a  written  report  in  order  that 
the  information  gained  may  be  of  immediate  use 
to  his  chief. 

For  all  of  these  reasons  we  have  concluded  that 


216     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

we  must  rely  on  commissioned  officers  of  the  regu- 
lar army  or  organised  militia,  trained  in  time  of 
peace  to  fulfil  their  functions  in  time  of  war.  We 
can  not  place  dependence  on  civilian  aviators,  for 
they  have  not  had  the  training  along  the  highly 
technical  and  specialised  lines  that  are  necessary. 
We  can  not  rely  on  enlisted  men  of  the  army,  for 
the  same  reason. 

There  is  another  class  of  fliers  that  will,  un- 
doubtedly, be  of  use  in  war  time.  These  are  the 
men  to  drive  fast-flying,  single-passenger  ma- 
chines for  speedy  messenger  service  between  de- 
tached bodies  of  troops,  or  to  drive  the  heavy  am- 
munition or  food-carrying  aeroplanes  to  relieve 
a  besieged  place.  These  may  well  be  chosen  from 
the  ranks  of  the  civilian  volunteers  who  would, 
without  doubt,  flock  to  our  colours  and  standards 
at  the  whistle  of  a  hostile  bullet.  There  is  plenty 
of  room  in  war  time  for  all  of  the  aviators  we  can 
scrape  together,  be  they  civilian  or  military. 

Two  new  types  of  aeroplane  have  been  alluded 
to  in  the  last,  preceding  paragraph;  the  fast-fly- 
ing, quick-climbing  racer  and  the  slow-going, 
heavy-weight  carrier.  We  are  of  opinion  that 
there  should  be  three  types  in  all  for  military 
purposes.  Of  greatest  importance  and  in  great- 
est numbers  we  should  have  the  middle-class  ma- 
chines; those  capable  of  staying  in  the  air  for 
at  least  three  hours  of  continuous  flight,  while 
carrying  two  men  and  one  hundred  and  fifty 


ABMY  AVIATION  217 

pounds  extra,  of  either  wireless  apparatus  or  ma- 
chine gun  and  ammunition.  Such  a  machine  will 
climb  two  thousand  feet  in  ten  minutes,  will  travel 
above  fifty  miles  an  hour  on  the  level,  is  perfectly 
easy  to  manage,  and  forms  the  back-bone  of  the 
aerial  fleet. 

One  of  these  craft  acting  as  a  convoy,  armed 
with  a  Benet-Mercier  machine  gun  weighing  about 
twenty  pounds  and  with  ample  ammunition,  could 
sweep  the  skies  clean  of  hostile  aeroplanes,  while 
its  mate,  carrying  reconnaissance  apparatus  and 
two  officers,  could  gather  the  information  which 
the  Commanding  General  desires.  The  speed  ma- 
chine is  for  use  as  described  above.  The  weight- 
carrying  machine  can  carry  about  six  thousand 
rounds  of  ammunition  at  a  trip.  Eifle  cartridges 
weigh  about  one  hundred  pounds  per  twelve  hun- 
dred rounds.  This  machine  could  carry  enough 
emergency  rations  on  one  trip  to  subsist  five  hun- 
dred men  for  a  day.  It  could  make  a  speed  of 
forty  miles  per  hour  with  this  weight  and,  in  the 
course  of  a  day,  could,  undoubtedly,  make  several 
trips  of  succour,  provided  the  sending  point  were 
within  fifty  miles  of  the  besieged  place — which  is 
the  usual  case. 

And  now,  can  an  aeroplane  be  used  to  prevent 
the  other  fellow  from  killing  us  1 

This  is  a  very  fascinating  subject  as  a  whole. 
The  field  opened  is  almost  limitless;  but  the 
greatest  idea  of  all  is  that  through  this  conquest 


218     THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

of  the  air  we  are  approaching  more  nearly  to  that 
much  longed-for  era  of  universal  peace.  Through 
the  aeroplane  and  dirigible,  man  is  effacing  arti- 
ficial barriers ;  he  is  bringing  the  rich  closer  to  the 
poor,  the  powerful  closer  to  the  weak.  No  longer 
can  unwise  and  selfish  potentates,  be  they  royal, 
democratic,  or  financial,  send  forth  their  armies 
to  fight  while  themselves  resting  safe  and  secure 
at  home.  The  king  in  his  palace  or  the  money 
baron  on  his  private  yacht  is  in  as  much  danger 
from  these  air  craft  as  is  the  high  private  in  the 
muddy  trenches  at  the  front.  That  touches  the 
selfish  side  of  things.  At  any  rate,  while  the  aer- 
oplane will,  probably,  do  more  to  promote  peace 
than  has  any  previous  discovery,  we  of  the  Army 
are  still  busily  engaged  in  finding  out  just  what 
it  will  do  in  war. 


CHAPTEE  VI 

THE  AEROPLANE  FOR  THE  NAVY 

(With  an  Account  of  the  Training  Camp  at  San  Diego.     By  Lieu- 
tenant Theodore  G.  Ellyson,  U.  S.  N.) 

THE  first  active  interest  of  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment in  the  practical  side  of  aviation  may 
be  said  to  date  from  November,  1910,  when  Glenn 
H.  Curtiss  offered  to  instruct  one  officer  in  the 
care  and  operation  of  his  type  of  aeroplane. 
Prior  to  this  date  the  Department  had  carefully 
followed  the  development  of  the  different  types 
of  aeroplanes,  but  had  taken  no  steps  toward  hav- 
ing any  one  instructed  in  practical  flying,  as  at 
that  time  there  was  no  aeroplane  considered  suit- 
able for  naval  purposes.  Again,  shortage  of  of- 
ficers and  lack  of  funds  for  carrying  along  such 
instruction  were  reasons  for  the  delay  in  taking 
the  initial  step.  There  were  unofficial  rumours 
to  the  effect  that  there  would  be  an  aviation  corps 
organised,  and  it  was  understood  that  requests 
for  such  duty  would  be  considered,  but  it  was 
looked  upon  as  an  event  that  would  take  place  in 
the  dim  future.  At  this  time  Mr.  Curtiss  made 
his  offer  to  instruct  an  officer  at  his  flying  field 
which  was  to  be  located  in  southern  California, 

219 


220     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

and,  as  it  was  understood  that  lie  had  in  view  the 
development,  during  the  winter,  of  a  machine 
that  could  be  operated  from  either  the  land  or  the 
water,  his  offer  was  immediately  accepted  by  the 
Navy  Department,  and  I  was  fortunate  enough 
to  be  detailed  for  this  duty. 

The  training  camp  was  located  on  North  Island, 
opposite  San  Diego,  California,  this  spot  having 
been  selected  on  account  of  the  prevailing  good 
weather,  and  because  there  was  both  a  good  fly- 
ing field  for  the  instruction  of  beginners,  and  a 
sheltered  arm  of  San  Diego  Bay,  called  The 
Spanish  Bight,  for  carrying  on  the  hydroaero- 
plane experiments.  The  camp  was  opened  on 
January  17,  1911,  and  shortly  thereafter  seven 
pupils  were  on  hand  for  training,  three  army  of- 
ficers, one  naval  officer  and  three  civilians. 

What  was  accomplished  there  is  now  history, 
namely  the  development  of  a  machine  that  could 
rise  from,  or  land  on,  either  the  land  or  the  wa- 
ter, a  feat  that  had  never  before  been  accom- 
plished. It  is  true  that  one  man  had  been  able 
to  rise  from  the  water ;  but  in  attempting  to  land 
on  the  same  he  had  wrecked  his  machine,  so  this 
could  not  be  called  a  successful  experiment.  This 
same  machine  which  had  risen  from  the  water  and 
landed  on  the  land  and  then  risen  from  the  land 
and  landed  on  the  water,  was  flown  from  the  avi- 
ation field  to  the  U.  S.  S.  Pennsylvania  by  Mr. 
Curtiss,  a  landing  made  alongside  and  the  aero- 


NAVY  AVIATION  221 

plane  hoisted  on  board  with  one  of  the  regular 
boat  cranes.  No  preparations  had  to  be  made  ex- 
cept to  fit  a  sling  over  the  engine  section  of  the 
aeroplane  so  that  it  could  be  hooked  on  the  boat 
crane.  The  aeroplane  was  then  hoisted  over  the 
side  and  flown  back  to  the  aviation  field. 

As  I  have  said,  the  above  paragraph  is  now 
history.  What  is  not  generally  known  is  the  hard 
work  and  the  many  disappointments  encountered 
before  the  hydroaeroplane  was  a  real  success. 
Mr.  Curtiss  had  two  objects  in  view:  First,  the 
development  of  the  hydroaeroplane,  and  secondly, 
the  personal  instruction  of  his  pupils.  The  lat- 
ter was  accomplished  early  in  the  morning  and 
late  in  the  afternoon  as  these  were  the  only  times 
when  the  wind  conditions  were  suitable,  and  the 
experimental  work  was  carried  on  during  the  rest 
of  the  day,  and,  I  think,  Mr.  Curtiss  also  worked 
the  best  part  of  the  remainder  of  the  time,  as  I 
well  remember  one  important  change  that  was 
made  as  the  result  of  an  idea  that  occurred  to 
him  while  he  was  shaving.  No  less  than  fifty 
changes  were  made  from  the  original  idea,  and 
those  of  us  who  did  not  then  know  Mr.  Curtiss 
well,  wondered  that  he  did  not  give  up  in  despair. 
Since  that  time  we  have  learned  that  anything 
that  he  says  he  can  do,  he  always  accomplishes, 
as  he  always  works  the  problem  out  in  his  mind 
before  making  any  statement. 

All  of  us  who  were  learning  to  fly  were  also 


222     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

interested  in  the  construction  of  the  machines, 
and  when  not  running  "Lizzy"  (our  practice 
machine)  up  and  down  the  field,  felt  honoured  at 
being  allowed  to  help  work  on  the  experimental 
machine.  You  see  it  was  not  Curtiss,  the  genius 
and  inventor,  whom  we  knew.  It  was  "G.  H.," 
a  comrade  and  chum,  who  made  us  feel  that  we 
were  all  working  together,  and  that  our  ideas  and 
advice  were  really  of  some  value.  It  was  never 
a  case  of  "do  this"  or  "do  that,"  to  his  amateur 
or  to  his  regular  mechanics,  but  always,  "What 
do  you  think  of  making  this  change?"  He  was 
always  willing  to  listen  to  any  argument  but  gen- 
erally managed  to  convince  you  that  his  plan  was 
the  best.  I  could  write  volumes  on  Curtiss,  the 
man,  but  fear  that  I  am  wandering  from  the  sub- 
ject in  hand. 

One  of  the  results  of  the  experiments  at  San 
Diego,  was  to  show  that  such  a  hydroaeroplane, 
or  a  development  of  it,  was  thoroughly  suitable 
for  naval  use.  Although  it  was  the  first  of  May 
before  Mr.  Curtiss  returned  to  his  factory  at 
Hammondsport,  specifications,  which  were  ap- 
proximately as  follows,  were  sent  him  and  he 
was  asked  if  he  could  make  delivery  by  the  first 
of  July  :- 

"A  hydroaeroplane,  capable  of  rising  from  or 
landing  on  either  the  land  or  the  water,  capable 
of  attaining  a  speed  of  at  least  fifty-five  miles  an 
hour,  with  a  fuel  supply  for  four  hours '  flight.  To 


NAVY  AVIATION  223 

carry  two  people  and  be  so  fitted  that  either  per- 
son could  control  the  machine. " 

His  reply  was  in  the  affirmative  and  the  ma- 
chine was  delivered  on  time.  Since  that  time  this 
machine  has  been  launched  from  a  cable,  which 
can  easily  be  used  aboard  ship,  and  has  been 
flown  on  an  overwater  nonstop  flight,  one  hundred 
and  forty-five  miles  in  one  hundred  and  forty- 
seven  minutes.  If  such  an  advance  has  been  made 
in  a  little  over  six  months'  time,  what  will  the 
next  year  bring  forth? 

In  my  opinion  the  aeroplane  will  be  used  by 
the  Navy  solely  for  scouting  purposes,  and  not 
as  an  offensive  weapon  as  seems  to  be  the  popular 
impression.  This  impression  is  probably  en- 
hanced by  the  recent  newspaper  reports  of  the 
damage  inflicted  upon  the  Turks  in  Tripoli,  by 
bombs  dropped  from  Italian  aeroplanes.  Even 
could  an  explosive  weighing  as  much  as  one  thou- 
sand pounds  be  carried  and  suddenly  dropped 
without  upsetting  the  stability  of  the  aeroplane, 
and  were  it  possible  to  drop  this  on  a  ship  from  a 
height  of  three  thousand  feet,  which  is  the  lowest 
altitude  that  would  ensure  safety  from  the  ship's 
gun  fire,  but  little  damage  would  be  done.  The 
modern  battleship  is  subdivided  into  many  sepa- 
rate water-tight  compartments,  and  the  worst 
that  would  be  done  would  be  to  pierce  one  of 
these,  and  destroy  those  in  that  one  compartment, 
without  seriously  crippling  the  gunfire  or  ma- 


224     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

noeuvring  qualities  of  the  ship.  In  only  one  way 
do  I  see  that  the  aeroplane  can  be  used  as  an  of- 
fensive weapon,  and  that  is  when  on  blockade 
duty,  with  the  idea  of  capturing  the  port,  ships 
out  of  range  of  the  land  batteries  could  send  out 
machines  with  fire  bombs  and  perhaps  set  fire  to 
the  port. 

Innumerable  instances  could  be  cited  where  the 
use  of  an  aeroplane  for  scouting  purposes  would 
have  been  invaluable.  In  recent  times  may  be 
cited  the  blockade  of  Port  Arthur  during  the 
Eusso-Japanese  War,  and  the  blockade  of  Santi- 
ago, during  the  Spanish- American  War. 

Again  suppose  that  several  scouts  were  on  the 
lookout  for  an  enemy's  fleet,  and  that  they  sighted 
the  enemy's  smoke.  It  has  been  proven  that  by 
modern  scouting  methods  it  is  next  to  impossible 
for  an  enemy  to  start  for  any  of  several  destina- 
tions, no  matter  how  many  miles  apart,  and  not 
be  discovered  by  the  opponent's  scouts  before 
reaching  their  destination.  The  enemy's  main 
strength,  or  battleships,  will  be  covered  by  a 
screen,  that  is  cruisers  and  torpedo  boat  destroy- 
ers, spread  out  many  miles  from  the  main  body, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  prevent  our  scouts  from  get- 
ting near  enough  to  obtain  any  information.  In 
order  to  obtain  the  necessary  information  our 
scouts  would  have  to  pierce  this  screen,  and  the 
chances  are  very  great  that  they  would  be  sunk 
in  the  attempt,  or  so  crippled  that  they  would  be 


ELLYSON  LAUNCHES  HYDRO  FROM  WIRE  CABLE 
(A)   The    start.       (B)    Leaving    the    wire 


HUGH   ROBINSON'S   HYDRO   FLIGHT  DOWN  THE   MISSISSIPPI 


NAVY  AVIATION  225 

unable  to  convey  the  information  to  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief.  In  any  event,  why  run  such  a 
risk?  If  equipped  with  aeroplanes  it  would  be 
an  easy  matter  to  send  them  out,  and  the  infor- 
mation would  be  obtained  in  a  much  shorter  time, 
without  danger  of  the  loss  of  a  ship,  and  with  the 
surety  that  the  information  would  be  secured. 
In  this  connection  it  must  be  remembered  that 
there  is  nothing  to  obscure  the  vision  at  sea,  that 
the  range  of  vision  from  a  height  of  three  thou- 
sand feet  is  approximately  forty  miles,  and  that 
the  wind  conditions  are  always  better  than  over 
land ;  that  is,  steady.  These  are  simply  a  few  in- 
stances of  the  value  that  an  aeroplane  may  be  to 
the  Navy. 

In  my  opinion,  the  ideal  aeroplane  for  naval 
use  should  have  the  following  characteristics: 
The  greatest  possible  speed,  while  carrying  two 
people  and  fuel  supply  for  at  least  four  hours' 
flight  (not  under  sixty  miles  an  hour  speed,  as 
this  has  already  been  accomplished),  and,  at  the 
same  time,  capability  of  being  easily  handled  in  a 
thirty-mile  wind.  There  are  many  machines  for 
which  this  quality  is  claimed,  but  few  that  have 
really  proved  it.  Double  control  so  that  either 
person  can  operate  the  machine.  Ability  to  be 
launched  from  shipboard,  without  first  lowering 
into  the  water,  as  on  many  occasions  the  wind  at 
sea  will  be  suitable  for  flying,  whereas  the  sea 
will  be  too  rough  to  rise  from.  Ability  to  land  on 


226     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

rough  water.  The  engine  to  be  fitted  with  a  self- 
starter.  Also  that  the  engine  be  muffled  and  the 
machine  fitted  with  a  sling  for  hoisting  on  board 
ship  by  means  of  a  crane,  and  so  constructed  that 
it  can  be  easily  taken  apart  for  stowage,  and 
quickly  assembled. 

A  search-light  for  making  landings  at  night, 
and  an  efficient  wireless  apparatus,  should  also 
form  part  of  the  full  equipment. 

I  did  not  make  one  of  the  requirements  that 
the  aeroplane  be  able  to  rise  from  the  water,  for 
in  actual  service  it  could  always  be  launched  from 
the  ship.  For  practice  work  and  for  instruc- 
tional purposes,  it  must  be  so  fitted,  but  this  could 
be  a  different  rig  if  necessary.  In  the  near  fu- 
ture I  predict  that  the  aeroplane  adopted  for 
naval  purposes  will  operate  from  a  ship  as  a  base 
and  the  great  part  of  the  instructional  work  will 
be  done  in  the  hydroaeroplane  on  account  of  the 
large  factor  of  safety. 


CHAPTEE  VII 

GLIDING   AND   CYCLE- SAILING— A    FUTURE    SPORT   FOR 
BOYS,  THE  AIRMEN  OF  TO-MORROW 

(By  Augustus  Post.) 

THEEE  is  great  popular  interest  in  the  prob- 
lem of  soaring,  or  flying  as  birds  do,  with- 
out   any   apparent   effort,    and   also    in   gliding 
flights,  or  descending  from  a  high  altitude  with- 
out the  help  of  a  motor. 

Wonderful  keenness  of  feeling  on  the  part  of 
an  aviator,  akin  to  that  remarkable  sensitiveness 
which  is  exhibited  by  all  blind  people,  may  be 
highly  developed — for  an  aviator  is  just  like  a 
blind  person  in  the  air  as  far  as  concerns  seeing 
the  eddies,  gusts,  and  currents,  which  are  so  dan- 
gerous to  the  balance  of  the  machine — but  the 
ability  to  advance  and  go  ahead  against  the  wind 
is  as  far  off  as  the  wireless  transmission  of  power 
is  to-day.  It  is  necessary  to  have  an  up-current 
of  air  to  enable  a  machine  to  soar  and  it  is  neces- 
sary to  find  where  these  upward  blowing  currents 
are.  Any  bicycle  can  coast  down  hill  and  a 
glider  is  only  a  coasting  aeroplane,  and  it  may 
be  as  difficult  to  find  the  right  air  current  as  to 
find  a  hill  to  coast  down  on  a  bicycle. 

227 


228     THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Great  advances  will  be  made  in  the  art  of  avia- 
tion along  the  lines  of  training  men  in  the  art  of 
handling  an  aeroplane.  No  opportunity  is  so 
good  for  this  purpose  as  handling  the  machine  as 
a  glider  with  the  motor  shut  off,  or  by  practise 
with  a  regular  gliding  machine.  Boys  will  natu- 
rally take  to  gliding,  and  as  a  glider  was  the  first 
form  of  flying-machine  and  the  easiest  to  build 
mechanically,  there  is  every  reason  why  sailing  or 
soaring  flights  should  be  thoroughly  mastered. 
The  instinct  which  birds  have  which  enables 
them  to  seek  out  and  to  utilise  the  rising  currents 
of  air  in  the  wind  and  so  to  set  and  adjust  their 
wings  as  to  enable  them  to  take  advantage  of 
these  rising  currents,  is  latent  in  the  human  mind 
and  can  be  developed  by  practice  to  a  point  far 
exceeding  that  of  birds,  on  account  of  man's  su- 
perior intelligence.  It  is  quite  possible  that  some 
arrangement  may  be  made  by  which  an  aviator 
can  see  the  air  and  can  prepare  for  or  escape  con- 
ditions that  are  not  favourable  to  his  manoauvres. 
It  is  clear  that  the  wind  gusts,  swirls,  and  turbu- 
lences exist  in  the  air,  for  they  are  quite  evident 
when  we  watch  a  snowstorm  and  can  see  the  snow- 
flakes  as  they  float,  impelled  now  in  one  direction, 
now  another,  or  as  we  see  dry  leaves  carried  about 
by  a  sudden  gust  of  wind,  or,  even  more  clearly 
when  over  sandy  plains  we  can  see  the  great  col- 
umns of  dust  ascending  in  the  center  of  whirl- 
winds for  hundreds  of  feet,  carrying  heavy  parti- 


GLIDING  229 

cles  to  great  heights.  It  is  quite  possible  that 
birds  can  see  the  air  itself  by  some  arrangement 
of  the  lenses  of  their  eyes  which  may  either  en- 
able them  to  see  the  fine  dust  particles  or  to  so 
polarise  the  light  that  the  direction  of  its  vibra- 
tions can  be  determined  and  the  course  of  flight 
so  changed  that  an  air  lane  favourable  to  the  path 
of  the  bird  can  be  followed  and  by  following  out 
one  stream  lane  among  many,  which  has  an  up- 
ward trend  sufficient  to  counteract  the  falling 
tendency,  the  bird  can  remain  at  an  equal  eleva- 
tion. 

Mr.  Orville  "Wright  has  clearly  demonstrated 
this  to  be  possible  by  his  experiments  lately  made 
at  Kitty  Hawk,  N.  C.,  where  he  was  able  to  soar 
for  ten  minutes  over  the  summit  of  a  sand  dune,  so 
delicately  adjusting  the  surfaces  of  his  glider  to 
the  up-trend  of  the  wind  that  he  was  falling  or 
descending  at  the  same  speed  that  the  wind  was 
rising,  and  thus  he  seemed  to  stand  still  over  one 
spot  on  the  ground.  After  increasing  his  descent 
and  approaching  the  ground,  he  was  able  by  the 
delicacy  of  adjustment  of  his  controls  to  change 
the  relation  in  such  a  manner  that  the  wind  rising 
overbalanced  the  descending  of  the  machine  and 
he  was  carried  backward  and  upward  to  the  crest 
of  the  hill  again,  where  he  remained  for  a  short 
time  before  again  gliding  downward  to  the  level 
ground  below.  In  the  same  manner  that  a  boat 
sails  against  the  wind  by  the  force  of  the  wind 


230     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

blowing  against  the  sail,  which  is  placed  at  an 
angle  to  it  and  which  resists  sidewise  motion  by 
the  pressure  of  the  water  against  the  hull  of  the 
boat,  a  glider  with  horizontal  sails  set  at  the 
proper  angle  will  also  sail  into  the  wind  which 
blows  against  its  surfaces  and  which  makes  the 
path  of  least  resistance  a  motion  forward  and 
slightly  descending  with  relation  to  the  direction 
of  the  wind,  but  which,  in  the  case  of  an  upward 
moving  current  of  air,  may  be  a  path  rising  in 
respect  to  the  ground. 

The  development  of  skill  in  this  art  will  come 
by  practice,  and  young  men  will  follow  out  the 
ideas  and  suggestions  of  the  more  experienced 
until  we  will  have  small,  light,  flexible  machines 
with  such  sensitive  control  that,  with  small  mo- 
tors to  enable  them  to  rise  or  to  get  from  one 
place  to  another,  much  as  a  bird  flaps  its  wings 
when  necessary  to  add  a  little  to  the  power  which 
it  gets  from  the  wind  itself,  or  in  rising  from  the 
ground,  will  be  able  to  sail  around  and  glide 
on  the  strength  of  the  wind  for  hours  at  a  time. 

The  clever  aviator  or  real  birdman  with  his 
keen  instinct  cultivated  to  a  state  of  perfection, 
fitted  with  polarising  glasses  possibly,  may  seek 
out  and  utilise  the  various  powers  that  are  pres- 
ent in  the  air;  adjusting  his  wings  so  that  he  will 
be  supported  by  the  upward  motion  of  the  air 
itself  where  it  exists,  or,  by  turning  on  his  motor, 
moving  from  one  rising  column  of  air  to  another, 


CYCLE-SAILING  231 

upon  which  he  may  hover  and  circle  around,  steer- 
ing clear  of  all  those  other  air  lanes  which  are 
leading  in  some  other  direction. 

These  glasses,  by  showing  where  the  air  waves 
are  all  of  one  direction,  may  reveal  a  current 
flowing  in  one  way,  while  they  may  make  great 
masses  of  air  flowing  in  some  other  direction  ap- 
pear as  of  some  other  colour,  say  red,  for  in- 
stance; or,  again,  in  another  direction,  all  may 
look  green,  and  it  will  only  be  necessary  to  keep 
where  all  is  pure  white. 

Entirely  new  types  of  machines  have  been  re- 
cently constructed  in  France  called  "aviettes" 
and  "cycloplanes."  These  are  machines  like 
gliders  which  are  mounted  on  bicycle  wheels  and 
small  aeroplanes  with  wings  which  have  aerial 
propellers  turned  by  the  pedals  which  drive  them 
along  the  ground  and  through  the  air. 

A  contest  was  held  in  France  in  June,  1912,  for 
a  prize  offered  by  the  Puegeot  Bicycle  Company 
for  the  first  machine  of  this  type  to  fly  a  distance 
of  about  forty  feet  and  later  a  second  prize  for 
the  first  machine  to  fly  over  two  tapes  one  meter 
— three  feet  nine  inches — apart  and  four  inches 
high.  Both  of  these  prizes  were  competed  for  by 
machines  without  any  motor  and  driven  solely  by 
man  power.  Over  two  hundred  entries  were  re- 
ceived by  the  promoters  of  the  contest,  but  no  one 
accomplished  the  flight  on  that  date  of  the  public 
contest.  Three  days  afterward,  however,  Gabriel 


232     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Paulhain  succeeded  in  winning  the  prize  put  up 
for  the  second  test.  He  flew  eleven  feet  nine 
inches  on  his  first  trial  and  ten  feet  nine  inches 
on  the  second,  which  was  made  in  the  reverse 
direction. 

There  seems  to  be  great  interest  in  this  form 
of  human  flight,  which  was  the  original  way  of 
attacking  the  problem  of  flight  itself.  When  the 
gasoline  motor  was  perfected  mechanical  flight 
followed  very  quickly  and  was  rapidly  developed 
to  a  high  degree  of  practicability.  It  is  possible 
that  with  encouragement  human  flight  may  also 
become  more  common  than  it  now  is. 


PAET  V 

EVERY-DAY  FLYING  FOR  PROFESSIONAL 
AND  AMATEUR 

BY 

GLENN  H.  CURTISS 

WITH    CHAPTERS    BY 

AUGUSTUS  POST  AND  HUGH  ROBINSON 


CHAPTER  I 

TEACHING  AVIATORS— HOW  AN  AVIATOR  FLIES 

TEACHING  another  man  how  to  fly  is  a  very 
important    matter,    in   whatever    way   yon 
look  at  it. 

You  can  take  a  perfect  machine  and  select  ideal 
conditions  and  let  everything  be  right  for  making 
a  flight  and  then  it  is  directly  np  to  the  pupil — he 
must  do  the  operating  of  the  machine,  no  one  else 
can  do  it  for  him.  In  a  single  passenger  machine, 
the  instructor  can  clearly  show  how  it  is  done 
and  then  the  other  fellow  must  do  it.  The  trick 
in  learning  to  fly  is  self-confidence  and  that  must 
be  gained  by  personal  practise.  Any  man  who 
wants  to  fly  badly  enough  can  fly. 

Almost  all  of  the  aviators  that  have  flown  and 
are  now  flying  Curtiss  machines,  like  Hamilton, 
Mars,  Ely,  McCurdy,  Beachey,  and  Willard  and 
the  army  and  navy  aviators,  have  been  practically 
self-taught  although  now  we  have  a  regular 
school  under  the  supervision  of  Lieut.  J.  W.  Mc- 
Claskey,  U.  S.  M.  C.  (retired),  who  has  had  great 
success  with  his  pupils.  I  have  been  flying  for 
over  four  years  and  I  feel  that  I  don't  know  much 
about  it  yet. 

235 


236     THE  CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

The  would-be  aviator  should  go  to  a  good 
school  where  the  best  facilities  can  be  had  and 
where  there  is  a  good  large  place  to  fly,  without 
obstructions.  The  machine  should  be  thoroughly 
mastered  and  every  part  understood.  Training 
a  man  to  fly  does  not,  as  I  regard  it,  consist  in 
putting  him  in  an  aeroplane  and  letting  him  go 
up  before  he  knows  how  to  get  down  again.  Any- 
body may  be  able  to  go  up  in  an  aeroplane,  but  it 
requires  skill  and  practice  to  come  down  without 
damage  to  man  or  machine. 

HOW  TO  FLY 

An  aeroplane  is  supported  in  the  air  by  its 
wings.  These  are  placed  at  a  slight  angle  to  the 
direction  in  which  it  goes  so  that  the  front  edge 
is  slightly  higher  than  the  rear  edge.  This  tends 
to  push  the  air  downward  and  the  speed  of  the 
aeroplane  must  be  great  enough  to  skim  over  the 
air  before  it  has  a  chance  to  flow  away.  You  may 
have  had  the  experience  of  skating  over  thin  ice 
which  would  bend  beneath  your  weight  as  long  as 
you  kept  moving,  although  it  would  have  broken 
if  you  remained  in  one  place.  This  is  precisely 
the  same  phenomenon,  and  as  the  water  has  not 
time  to  flow  away  underneath  from  the  thin  ice  so 
the  air  is  caught  under  the  surfaces  of  the  wings 
and  the  machine  passes  on  gathering  new  air  as 
it  goes  to  support  it,  faster  than  the  air  can  flow 
away.  A  curved  surface  is  better  than  a  flat  one 


HOW  TO  FLY  237 

and  to  find  just  the  proper  curve  to  be  most  ef- 
ficient at  the  speed  at  which  the  machine  is  to  fly 
is  a  very  difficult  problem  and  must  be  deter- 
mined by  very  careful  laboratory  experiments. 

The  various  flying  machines  have  different 
ways  of  accomplishing  the  control  of  the  rudders 
for  steering  to  the  right  or  left,  and  up  and  down, 
for  a  flying  machine  is  different  from  all  other 
vehicles  in  this  one  respect.  In  addition  to  the 
steering,  the  machine  must  be  balanced,  and  as 
the  air  is  the  most  unstable  of  all  mediums,  how 
to  maintain  the  equilibrium  becomes  perhaps  the 
most  important  point  in  the  construction  of  an 
aeroplane,  as  well  as  the  most  necessary  one  for 
the  aviator  to  master.  This  is  accomplished  in 
various  ways  and  is  the  characteristic  feature  of 
the  different  machines. 

The  Curtiss  machine  is  considered  one  of  the 
simplest  of  all.  When  it  is  remembered  that  Mr. 
C.  F.  Willard,  my  first  pupil,  learned  to  operate 
a  machine  with  hardly  any  instruction  it  would 
seem  that  the  mere  learning  to  operate  should  not 
be  a  serious  obstacle  to  overcome.  If  the  air  is 
still  and  there  are  no  wind  gusts  to  strike  the  ma- 
chine sideways  and  upset  it,  flying  is  easy,  but  if 
the  air  comes  in  gusts  and  is  rolling  and  turbulent 
even  the  best  and  most  skilful  operator  is  kept 
busy  manoeuvring  the  front  rudder  and  endeav- 
ouring to  keep  the  machine  headed  into  the  wind, 
and  when  it  tips,  moving  the  side  controls  to 


238     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

maintain  the  balance.  With  all  of  these  move- 
ments it  is  no  wonder  that  the  aviator's  mind 
must  be  active — there  is  no  time  to  think,  every 
movement  and  act  must  be  absolutely  accurate 
and  the  body  must  be  under  full  control. 

The  operator  sits  on  a  small  seat  just  in  front 
of  the  lower  main  plane ;  directly  in  front  of  him 
is  a  wheel  which  he  can  push  out  or  pull  back. 
Pushing  the  wheel  out  turns  the  elevating  sur- 
faces so  that  the  machine  points  down.  On  the 
other  hand,  pulling  the  wheel  toward  you  points 
the  machine  up,  causing  it  to  rise  higher  into  the 
air.  Turning  the  wheel  to  the  right  or  left  steers 
the  machine  to  the  right  or  left  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  a  boat  is  steered  by  turning  its  rudder. 

The  operator  now  must  consider  how  to  bal- 
ance the  aeroplane.  On  each  side  at  the  extreme 
outer  ends  of  the  machine  are  placed  small  hori- 
zontal planes  so  hinged  at  their  front  edge  that 
they  may  be  turned  up  or  down.  They  are  con- 
nected together  in  such  a  manner  that  when  one 
points  up  the  other  points  down,  thus  acting  as  a 
"couple";  wires  connect  these  stabilising  planes 
to  the  movable  back  of  the  pilot's  seat.  This  has 
a  yoke  which  fits  over  the  shoulders  of  the  oper- 
ator. 

When  the  machine  tips  to  the  left  the  aviator 
naturally  leans  to  the  right  or  the  highest  side 
and  the  lever  is  moved  to  the  right  by  the  pressure 


LEAENING  TO  FLY  239 

of  the  shoulder.  This  causes  the  left  hand  sta- 
bilising plane  to  be  pulled  down  so  that  it  offers 
its  surface  at  an  angle  to  the  wind  and  exerts  a 
lift  on  its  side  while  the  right  hand  plane  is 
turned  the  opposite  way,  which  causes  it  to  exert 
a  depressing  effect  on  its  side ;  this  tends  to  right 
the  machine. 

The  operator  must  use  his  feet  also  for  there  is 
a  pedal  for  the  left  foot  which  operates  the  throt- 
tle of  the  engine,  causing  it  to  go  faster  or  slower, 
and  one  for  the  right  foot  which  operates  a  brake 
on  the  front  wheel,  which  helps  to  stop  the  aero- 
plane after  it  has  landed  and  is  running  over  the 
ground  on  its  wheels. 

THE  FIKST  STEPS 

It  is  necessary  to  know  every  detail  of  the  ma- 
chine— every  bolt,  nut  and  screw,  and  the  pur- 
pose each  serves  in  the  economy  of  the  whole.  It 
is  absolutely  essential  for  the  successful  aviator 
to  know  his  motor.  The  motor  is  the  heart  of  the 
aeroplane,  and  keeping  it  in  good  order  is  just 
as  necessary  to  the  aviator's  safety  as  is  the  keep- 
ing of  his  own  heart  strong  for  any  emergency 
that  he  may  be  called  to  face. 

After  becoming  familiar  with  its  workings,  so 
that  it  becomes  second  nature  to  make  the  right 
movements,  get  into  the  machine  and  when  the 
air  is  perfectly  still  run  it  over  the  ground. 


240     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

When  there  is  no  more  novelty  in  the  sensation 
and  the  machine  is  in  a  good  position  to  get  up 
speed  you  raise  the  elevator  a  little  and  try  mak- 
ing short  jumps  into  the  air.  The  other  pupils 
standing  in  a  group  at  the  end  of  the  field  are 
usually  hoping  and  praying  that  you  will  not 
smash  the  machine  before  their  turn  comes  and 
so  cause  delay  until  it  is  repaired. 

In  San  Diego,  there  was  great  rivalry  between 
the  Army  and  the  Navy.  Witmer  and  Ellyson 
used  to  get  up  by  sunrise  and  go  over  to  the  island 
and  take  out  the  old  machine  we  used  for  teach- 
ing, which  was  nicknamed  " Lizzy."  They  did 
this  secretly  because  there  was  only  one  machine 
and  they  did  not  want  the  Army  to  smash  it  and 
so  keep  them  down  on  the  ground.  After  making 
their  practice,  they  would  go  home  and  come  back 
later,  pretending  that  it  was  their  first  appear- 
ance. 

When  the  officers  began  their  schooling  they 
fell  steadily  into  my  way  of  looking  at  the  prob- 
lem, and  not  one  of  them  spared  himself  bruised 
hands  or  grimy  clothing.  For  the  first  ten  days 
I  did  not  offer  them  a  chance  even  to  give  the 
motor  its  full  power  while  they  were  in  the  avia- 
tor's seat.  After  they  had  worked  around  the 
aeroplane  long  enough,  however,  and  were  fa- 
miliar with  all  its  details,  they  were  allowed  to 
make  "runs"  over  the  half  mile  course,  straight- 
away. 


LEABNING  TO  FLY  241 

i 

That  is,  they  took  their  seats  in  the  machine  in 
turn,  the  propeller  was  started,  and  the  machine 
propelled  along  the  ground  on  its  wheels,  like  an 
automobile,  without  being  able  to  rise.  To  pre- 
vent the  machine  rising  while  one  of  the  men  was 
in  it,  the  throttle  of  the  engine  was  so  arranged 
that  it  only  got  half  power,  which  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  give  it  lifting  power,  but  enough  to  drive 
it  along  on  the  ground  at  twenty  or  twenty-five 
miles  an  hour.  This  "grass  cutting, "  as  the  boys 
soon  dubbed  it,  gave  them  the  opportunity  to  be- 
come used  to  the  speed  and  the  "feel"  of  the  ma- 
chine. It  also  taught  them  to  steer  a  straight 
course  by  using  the  rudder  and  the  front  control, 
and  to  practise  balance  by  the  use  of  the  ailerons. 
After  a  few  days  of  these  runs  the  throttle  was 
given  full  vent,  allowing  full  speed  on  the  wheels, 
but  the  propeller  was  changed  to  one  without  the 
usual  pitch.  Thus,  while  the  engine  would  drive 
the  aeroplane  at  full  speed  on  its  wheels,  this 
propeller  did  not  have  enough  thrust  to  lift  it 
from  the  ground.  In  this  way  the  military 
pupils  got  the  advantage  of  the  speed,  acquired 
balance,  and  adjusted  their  control  to  suit  it, 
without  the  danger  of  getting  up  in  the  air  too 
soon. 

A  little  later,  when  they  had  thoroughly  ac- 
customed themselves  to  these  conditions,  still  an- 
other propeller  was  put  on.  This  one  had  just 
sufficient  pitch  to  lift  the  aeroplane  from  the 


242     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

ground,  when  well  handled,  and  it  would  make 
' '  jumps "  of  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  at  a  height 
of  a  few  inches  or,  perhaps,  a  few  feet. 

These  jumps  served  still  further  to  develop  the 
ability  of  the  men  to  control  the  machine  and 
perfect  their  balance,  and  it  gave  them  the  first 
sensation  of  being  in  flight  at  high  speed,  though 
not  high  enough  to  do  any  great  damage  should 
one  of  them  be  so  unlucky  as  to  smash  up.  A 
smash-up  was  what  we  particularly  wished  to 
guard  against  at  all  times,  not  only  because  of 
the  cost  of  repairs  and  the  delay,  but  largely  be- 
cause an  accident,  even  though  it  may  do  no  in- 
jury to  the  aviator,  may  seriously  effect  his 
nerves.  I  have  known  of  beginners  who,  while 
making  rapid  progress  in  learning  to  fly,  suffered 
a  complete  setback  just  because  of  an  unim- 
portant accident  to  the  machine  in  flight,  or  in 
landing.  Eagerness  to  fly  too  soon  is  responsible 
for  many  of  the  accidents  that  befall  beginners. 
An  ambitious  young  man  may  become  thoroughly 
convinced  after  a  few  jumps  that  all  he  needs  for 
making  a  long  and  successful  flight  is  the  oppor- 
tunity to  get  up  a  hundred  feet  or  so.  The  first 
chance  he  has,  he  goes  up  as  he  had  planned,  and 
unless  he  is  lucky  or  an  exceptionally  quick 
thinker,  the  odds  are  that  he  will  smash  up  in 
getting  back  to  earth  again. 

I  have  never  seen  any  one  more  eager  to  fly, 
and  to  fly  as  quickly  as  possible,  than  were  these 


LEARNING  TO  FLY  243 

officers.  Probably  they  were  following  the  mili- 
tary bent  of  their  minds  or,  perhaps,  it  was  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  pioneer  in  a  new  science. 

As  a  rule,  the  mornings  at  San  Diego  are  fine. 
There  is  seldom  any  wind  during  the  forenoon, 
except  when  one  of  the  winter  rain  storms  blows 
in  from  the  ocean.  We  tried  to  get  in  as  much 
work  during  this  calm  period  as  possible.  The 
mornings  were  found  to  be  the  best  for  doing  this 
work.  It  was  most  desirable,  not  to  say  neces- 
sary, that  the  pupils  should  have  a  minimum  of 
wind  during  their  early  practice  work.  Even 
the  lightest  wind  may  sometimes  give  serious 
trouble  to  the  beginner.  A  gust  may  lift  the 
aeroplane  suddenly  and  then  just  as  suddenly  die 
out,  allowing  the  machine,  should  it  be  in  flight, 
to  drop  as  quickly  as  it  rose.  Such  a  moment  is 
a  critical  one  for  an  inexperienced  man.  He  feels 
himself  dropping  and  unless  he  keeps  his  head 
clear,  he  may  come  to  grief  through  doing  too 
much  or  too  little  to  restore  his  equilibrium. 

In  the  practice  work  all  the  officers,  as  well  as 
two  private  students,  C.C.Witmer  of  Chicago  and 
E.  H.  St.  Henry  of  San  Francisco,  used  the  same 
machine.  This  was  one  of  the  older  types  of  bi- 
plane, with  especially  strong  wheels,  and  with  a 
four-cylinder  engine.  This  type  was  selected  as 
best  adapted  to  the  strain  of  heavy  work.  It  had 
sufficient  power,  under  its  regular  equipment,  to 
fly  well,  but  had  not  the  very  high  speed  of  the 


244     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

latest  type,  fitted  with  eight-cylinder  engines. 
For  beginners,  I  consider  the  four-cylinder  ma- 
chines the  best. 

While  most  of  the  practice  runs  and  jumps 
were  made  during  the  hours  of  the  forenoon, 
when  there  was  little  or  no  wind,  there  was  plenty 
of  work  on  hand  to  fill  in  the  afternoons  as  well. 
We  were  all  the  while  experimenting  with  various 
devices,  some  of  them  new,  others  merely  modifi- 
cations of  the  old.  All  of  these,  whether  new  or 
old,  involved  many  changes  in  the  equipment  of 
the  aeroplanes.  There  was  seldom  a  time  when 
at  least  one  or  more  of  the  four  machines  we  kept 
on  the  island  was  not  in  the  process  of  being 
taken  down  or  set  up.  Besides,  there  was  the 
long  series  of  experiments  with  the  hydroaero- 
plane, which  were  carried  on  from  day  to  day 
without  affecting  the  regular  practice  work. 

These  frequent  changes  in  motor,  propeller, 
planes,  or  controls,  were  always  taken  part  in  by 
the  officers.  Thus  they  became  acquainted  with 
everything  about  an  aeroplane  and  knew  the  re- 
sults produced  by  the  changes.  I  consider  this 
the  most  valuable  part  of  their  training. 

All  this  "building  up"  process,  as  it  may  be 
called,  that  is,  building  up  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  aeroplane  until  every  detail  is  known,  I 
believed  to  be  necessary.  I  proceeded  on  the  the- 
ory that  confidence  is  sure  only  when  the  aviator 
has  a  thorough  understanding  of  his  machine,  and 


LEAENING  TO  FLY  245 

confidence  is  the  absolute  essential  to  the  man 
who  takes  a  trip  in  an  aeroplane.  If  the  aviator 
has  not  the  knowledge  of  what  to  do,  or  what  his 
machine  will  do  under  certain  conditions,  he 
would  better  not  trust  himself  in  the  air.  Once 
the  men  learned  to  make  the  runs  and  jumps  suc- 
cessfully and  to  handle  the  machine  with  ease  and 
confidence,  they  were  ready  for  the  next  stage  of 
their  training  before  they  could  be  trusted  to 
make  a  flight.  This  was  to  go  as  passengers. 
For  the  carrying  of  a  passenger,  I  chose  the  hy- 
droaeroplane. 

This  machine  was  not  equipped  with  wheels 
for  landing  on  the  earth,  when  I  first  began  to 
use  it,  but  had  all  the  equipment  for  starting 
from  or  landing  on  the  water.  We  had  built  a 
hangar  for  storing  it  at  night  close  down  to  the 
water  on  Spanish  Bight,  which  gave  us  the 
smooth  shallow  water  for  launching  it  and  haul- 
ing it  out  with  ease. 

First,  the  men  were  taken  in  turn  as  passen- 
gers for  runs  over  the  surface  of  the  bay.  On 
these  runs  I  made  no  attempt  to  rise  from  the 
water.  I  wanted  to  give  the  men  time  to  accus- 
tom themselves  to  the  new  sensation  of  skimming 
over  the  water  at  forty  miles  an  hour,  for  that  is 
the  speed  at  which  I  was  able  to  drive  the  hydro- 
aeroplane. The  machine  would  skim  along  under 
full  power,  with  the  edge  of  the  float  "  skipping " 
the  water  as  a  boy  skips  a  stone  on  a  pond. 


246     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

After  this  I  undertook  short  flights,  taking  each 
officer  in  turn  as  a  passenger,  and  keeping  within 
fifty  or  a  hundred  feet  of  the  water.  At  intervals 
I  would  make  landings  on  the  water,  coming  down 
until  the  float  touched  the  surface,  and  then  get- 
ting up  again  without  shutting  off  the  power. 
When  these  flights  had  been  made  for  several 
days  and  the  men  had  accustomed  themselves 
thoroughly  to  the  sensation  of  being  in  flight,  I 
believed  they  had  progressed  far  enough  to  be 
taken  up  for  longer  and  higher  flights  over  both 
land  and  sea.  In  these  flights  I  used  a  machine 
equipped  for  landing  on  both  land  and  water  with 
equal  safety. 

One  of  the  most  important  things  that  should 
be  developed  in  the  beginner,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  the  most  difficult,  is  the  sense  of  balance. 
Every  one  who  has  ever  ridden  a  bicycle  knows 
that  the  sense  of  balance  comes  only  after  con- 
siderable practice.  Once  a  bicycle  is  under  way 
the  balance  is  comparatively  easy,  but  in  an  aero- 
plane the  balance  changes  with  every  gust  of 
wind,  and  the  aviator  must  learn  to  adjust  himself 
to  these  changes  automatically.  Especially  is  a 
fine  sense  of  balance  necessary  in  making  sharp 
turns. 

Some  aviators  develop  this  sense  of  balance 
readily,  while  others  acquire  it  only  after  long 
practice.  It  may  be  developed  to  a  large  extent 
by  going  up  as  a  passenger  with  an  experienced 


LEARNING  TO  FLY  247 

aviator.  I  have  noticed  that  it  always  helps  a 
beginner,  therefore,  to  make  as  many  trips  as 
possible  with  some  one  else  operating  the  aero- 
plane. In  this  way  they  soon  gain  confidence, 
become  used  to  the  surroundings,  and  are  ready 
for  flights  on  their  own  hook. 

One  by  one  the  officers  were  taken  up  as  pas- 
sengers on  sustained  flights  until  they  felt  per- 
fectly at  ease  while  flying  high  and  at  great 
speed.  The  machine  I  used  for  passenger-car- 
rying practice  work  was  capable  of  flying  fifty- 
five  miles  an  hour  without  a  passenger,  and  prob- 
ably fifty  miles  an  hour  with  a  passenger.  This 
speed  gave  the  men  an  opportunity  to  feel  the 
sensation  of  fast  and  high  flying,  an  experience 
that  sometimes  shakes  the  nerves  of  the  amateur. 

All  this  took  time.  As  I  have  said  elsewhere,  I 
did  not  want  to  force  the  knowledge  of  aviation 
upon  the  young  officers.  Bather,  I  wanted  to  let 
them  absorb  most  of  it,  and  to  come  by  the  thing 
naturally  and  with  confidence.  It  was  much  bet- 
ter, as  I  regarded  it,  to  take  more  time,  and  give 
more  attention  to  the  little  details,  than  to  sacri- 
fice any  of  the  essentials  to  a  too-quick  flight. 

The  men  who  had  been  detailed  to  learn  to 
fly,  I  assumed,  would  be  called  upon  to  teach  other 
officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy  and,  therefore,  they 
should  be  thoroughly  qualified  to  act  as  instruct- 
ors when  they  should  have  completed  their  work 
at  San  Diego.  This  is  the  view  they  took  also,  I 


248     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

believe,  and  I  never  saw  men  more  anxious  to 
learn  to  fly. 

During  the  last  period  of  instruction,  when  the 
men  had  gone  through  all  the  preliminaries ;  when 
they  had  learned  how  to  take  down  and  set  up  a 
Curtiss  aeroplane;  knew  the  motor,  and  how  to 
operate  it  to  the  best  advantage;  in  short,  were 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  every  detail  of  the 
machine,  they  were  ready  for  the  advanced  stage 
of  the  work.  This  was  to  take  out  a  four-cylin- 
der aeroplane  for  flights  of  from  three  to  ten  min- 
utes '  duration  at  various  heights. 

My  instructions  to  all  of  the  men  were  never 
to  ascend  to  unaccustomed  heights  on  these  prac- 
tice flights;  that  is,  not  to  venture  beyond  the 
heights  at  which  they  felt  perfectly  at  ease  and 
capable  of  handling  the  machine,  and  to  make  a 
safe  landing  without  danger  to  themselves  or  to 
the  machine.  These  instructions  were  obeyed  at 
all  times.  Perhaps  the  caution  exercised  at 
every  stage  of  the  instructional  period  had  had 
its  effect  on  the  men  and  they  felt  no  desire  to 
take  unnecessary  chances. 

When  they  were  able  to  fly  and  to  make  safe 
landings  in  a  four-cylinder  machine,  I  considered 
that  I  had  done  all  I  could  do  to  make  aviators  of 
them.  I  had  tried  not  to  neglect  anything  that 
would  prove  of  benefit  to  them  in  their  future 
work — things  I  had  had  to  learn  through  long 
years  of  experiments  and  many  failures.  In 


LEAENING  TO  FLY  249 

other  words,  I  tried  to  give  them  the  benefit  of 
all  my  experience  in  the  many  little  details  that 
go  to  make  the  successful  aviator. 

Given  the  proper  foundation  for  any  trade  or 
profession,  the  intelligent  man  will  work  out  his 
own  development  in  his  own  way.  I  could  only 
start  the  men  along  the  road  I  believed  to  be  the 
easiest  and  safest  to  travel;  they  had  to  choose 
their  own  way  and  time  to  reach  the  goal. 

It  has  been  a  pleasure  and  satisfaction  to  work 
with  the  officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy.  Their 
desire  to  learn  the  problems  of  aviation,  intelli- 
gently applied,  has  made  the  work  easier  than  I 
had  anticipated.  The  many  little  annoyances 
that  often  beset  us  are  forgotten  in  the  keen  sat- 
isfaction of  having  been  of  some  service  to  the 
men  themselves,  and  above  all  to  our  War  and 
Navy  Departments. 

A  BULLETIN  ISSUED  AT  THE  CURTISS  AVIATION   CAMP 

The  course  is  divided  into  six  parts  or  stages. 

1st.  Ground  work  with  reduced  power.  To 
teach  running  in  straight  line. 

2nd.  Straightaway  flights  near  the  ground,  just 
sufficient  power  to  get  off. 

3rd.  Straightaway  flights  off  the  ground  at  a 
distance  of  ten  or  fifteen  feet  to  teach  use  of  the 
rudder  and  ailerons. 

4th.  Eight  and  left  half  circles  and  glides. 

5th.  Circles. 


250     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

6th.  Figure  eights,  altitude  flights  and  landings 
without  power  and  glides. 

In  the  above  stages  of  instruction  the  men 
should  learn  the  following  about  flying: 

FIRST  STAGE 

Learn  to  run  straight,  using  rudder  and  keep- 
ing on  the  ground.  The  idea  is  to  be  able  to  con- 
trol under  reduced  power.  Student  must  be 
kept  at  this  continuously  until  he  is  perfectly  at 
home  in  the  machine  and  accustomed  to  the  noise 
of  the  motor  and  the  jar  and  movement  of  the 
machine  on  the  ground.  This  practice  should  be 
kept  up  from  one  to  two  weeks,  depending  upon 
the  ability  the  student  shows  in  handling  the  ma- 
chine in  this  part  of  the  instruction. 

SECOND  STAGE 

Motor  throttled,  but  with  sufficient  power  to  al- 
low the  student  to  jump  the  machine  off  of  the 
ground  for  very  short  distances.  Care  must  be 
taken  in  adjusting  the  throttle  to  allow  for  wind 
conditions,  otherwise  machine  may  be  shot  up  into 
the  air  suddenly  and  the  student  lose  control  of 
it.  Student  should  be  also  instructed  during 
these  jumps  to  pay  attention  to  the  ailerons  to 
keep  the  machine  balanced.  The  throttle  can  be 
gradually  let  out  to  full  as  soon  as  the  student 
begins  to  acquire  the  use  of  the  ailerons  and 
keeps  good  balance. 


LEARNING  TO  FLY  251 

THIED  STAGE 

Student  should  be  instructed  to  rise  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet  from  the  ground  in  straightaway 
flights,  and  use  rudder  slightly  in  order  to  become 
accustomed  to  its  use  and  its  effect  on  the  ma- 
chine in  the  air.  As  soon  as  the  student  has  ac- 
complished the  above  he  may  be  permitted  to 
rise  to  the  approximate  height  of  one  hundred 
feet  if  the  field  is  large  enough  and  to  glide  down 
under  reduced  power.  When  he  has  done  this 
successfully  many  times,  let  him  repeat  the  above 
gliding  with  motor  cut  out  completely. 

FOURTH    STAGE 

Student  may  be  permitted  to  rise  to  the  height 
of  twenty-five  to  fifty  feet  and  make  half  circles 
across  the  field  to  the  right  and  then  to  the  left. 
These  circles  should  be  shortened  or  sharpened 
with  increased  banking  on  turns  until  they  are 
sufficient  for  any  ordinary  condition  or  case  of 
emergency. 

FIFTH   STAGE 

The  student  may  be  permitted  to  rise  to  a 
height  of  not  less  than  fifty  feet,  and  if  the  field 
is  sufficiently  large,  permitted  to  make  long  cir- 
cles, gradually  shortening  these  circles  until  the 
shortest  circle  required  is  reached.  Student 


252     THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

should  be  cautioned  not  to  climb  on  the  turns. 
He  should  be  instructed  to  drop  the  machine  on 
the  turns,  thus  increasing  the  speed  and  lessening 
the  possibility  of  slipping  side  wise  in  banking. 
He  should  be  instructed  to  land  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible on  all  three  wheels  at  once.  This  may  be 
accomplished  by  flying  or  gliding  as  close  to  the 
ground  as  possible  and  parallel  to  it,  then  slow- 
ing the  engine  and  allowing  the  machine  to  settle 
to  the  ground. 

SIXTH  STAGE 

In  making  figure  eights  for  pilot's  license, 
student  should  try  to  climb  as  much  as  possible 
on  the  straightaways  between  the  turns  and  drop 
slightly  on  the  turns.  In  making  glides  from 
high  altitudes  where  motor  is  voluntarily  cut  off, 
it  is  best  to  start  the  gliding  angle  before  the 
power  is  cut  off.  In  case  the  motor  should  stop 
suddenly,  the  machine  should  be  plunged  instantly 
if  machine  is  at  sufficient  altitude  and  consider- 
ably sharper  than  the  gliding  angle,  in  order  to 
maintain  the  head-on  speed,  and  then  gradually 
brought  back  to  the  gliding  angle. 

A  DAY  AT  HAMMONDSPOKT — NOTE  BY  AUGUSTUS  POST 

The  Curtiss  Aviation  Camp  at  Hammondsport 
broke  all  records  on  June  22,  1912,  by  the  number 
of  flights  made  in  a  day.  In  all,  two  hundred  and 
forty  flights  were  made.  One  hundred  and  twen- 


LEARNING  TO  FLY  253 

ty-six  of  these  were  with  the  practice  machine 
called  "Lizzie"  and  constituted  straight  flights 
for  the  length  of  the  field  and  half  circles.  Sixty- 
four  flights  were  made  with  the  eight-cylinder 
practice  machine,  and  consisted  of  half  circles, 
circles,  and  figure  eights.  The  other  sixty  flights 
were  made  with  the  hydroaeroplane. 

The  twelve  students  who  made  these  flights, 
some  of  whom  were  taking  the  course  in  the  hydro 
and  land  machine  both,  expressed  themselves  as 
pretty  thoroughly  tired  out  at  the  end  of  this 
strenuous  day's  work.  One  hundred  or  more 
flights  are  made  practically  every  day  in  the 
week,  but  the  twenty-second  being  a  particularly 
fine  day,  this  new  record  was  made. 

The  day's  flying  used  up  a  barrel  of  gasoline 
and  four  gallons  of  oil. — A.  P. 


CHAPTER  II 

AVIATION  FOR  AMATEURS 

THE  man  who  contemplates  buying  an  aero- 
plane for  his  own  use  will  be  especially  in- 
terested in  three  subjects:  First,  how  difficult  it 
is  to  learn  to  fly;  second,  how  long  it  takes  to 
learn ;  and  third,  what  is  the  cost  of  up-keep.  By 
difficult  I  do  not  mean  dangerous;  any  one  who 
has  gone  far  enough  to  consider  owning  and  op- 
erating a  machine  knows  and  discounts  the  ele- 
ment of  danger,  and  as  to  cost,  it  is  easy  to  get 
figures  on  the  first  cost  of  an  aeroplane;  what 
the  investigator  would  like  to  know  is  what  it  is 
likely  to  cost  him  for  maintenance,  breakage,  and 
so  on. 

With  a  competent  teacher — and  if  ever  compe- 
tence was  necessary  it  is  here — learning  to  fly  is 
neither  difficult  nor  dangerous.  Six  weeks  ought 
to  be  time  enough  to  teach  one  to  fly,  provided 
the  pupil  knows  something  about  motors  and  is 
apt  in  other  ways.  Contrary  to  popular  belief, 
reckless  daring  is  not  one  of  the  requirements 
for  success.  Indeed,  a  man  who  applies  for  a 
position  as  aviator  with  the  announcement  that 
he  is  a  daredevil  afraid  of  nothing  under  heaven, 
is  very  likely  to  be  rejected  for  this  very  reason, 

254 


AVIATION  FOE  AMATEUES         255 

and  a  pupil  who  has  the  common  sense  to  know 
that  there  is  no  especial  point  in  defying  a  quite 
impersonal  force  like  gravitation  will  get  up  a 
much  better  start  than  one  who  has  so  little  cau- 
tion that  he  wants  to  get  up  in  the  air  too  soon. 
Caution  is  the  great  thing  for  the  beginner.  Let 
him  learn  the  machine  first  from  the  ground  and 
on  the  ground,  learn  the  controls  and  find  out 
what  to  do  when  he  shall  be  up  in  the  air.  Then 
let  him  learn  how  it  feels  to  run  over  the  ground 
on  the  wheels.  Then  he  will  begin  to  make 
' ' jumps,"  little  ones,  then  longer  and  longer,  un- 
til he  is  free  of  any  fear  of  the  air.  This  comes 
sooner  with  some  than  with  others,  and  it  is  said 
that  in  some  rare  cases  fear  of  the  air  never  exists 
at  all,  for  the  great  aviator,  the  star  performer, 
like  any  other  great  man,  has  to  be  born  with  cer- 
tain qualifications  and  a  good  many  of  them. 
There  is  no  reason,  with  the  advancing  improve- 
ment in  the  flying  machine,  why  almost  every  one 
with  a  real  desire  to  fly  should  not  be  able  in  a 
comparatively  short  time  to  learn  to  do  so. 

As  for  the  third  point,  it  will  cost  no  more  to 
keep  an  aeroplane  than  to  own  an  automobile. 
The  initial  cost  is  the  greatest.  Of  course,  there 
are  the  same  qualifications  that  obtain  with  the 
automobile — the  cost  of  up-keep  will  depend  upon 
whether  you  have  many  and  serious  breakages 
and  whether  the  owner  looks  after  his  own  ma- 
chine. Should  the  owner  prefer  to  hire  a  com- 


256     THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

petent  mechanic,  his  wages  will  be  about  the  same 
as  those  of  a  first-class  chauffeur.  As  for  smash- 
ups,  the  expense  of  these  would  be  considerable, 
but  not  as  much  as  it  would  be  if  an  automobile 
should  have  an  accident.  For  contrary  to  the 
ideas  of  a  good  many  of  the  uninitiated,  it  is 
quite  possible  to  injure  an  aeroplane,  and  quite 
seriously,  too,  without  in  the  least  hurting  the 
aviator.  In  this  respect  the  hydroaeroplane  is 
of  course  safest  of  all ;  I  am  reminded  of  a  recent 
accident  at  Antibes,  near  Nice,  France,  where 
Mr.  Hugh  Eobinson,  who  was  demonstrating  a 
Curtiss  hydroaeroplane,  suffered  a  badly  wrecked 
machine  without  the  least  injury.  Forced  to  make 
a  quick  landing,  he  chose,  in  order  to  avoid  a 
flock  of  motor  boats  filled  with  spectators,  to  dive 
directly  into  the  water.  The  shock  threw  him  out 
of  the  machine  and  he  swam  about  unconcernedly 
until  a  motor  boat  picked  him  up.  Of  course  a 
similar  sharp  contact  with  the  solid  ground  would 
have  wrecked  the  aviator  to  some  extent  as  well, 
but  it  is  possible  to  put  a  hydroaeroplane  com- 
pletely out  of  commission,  necessitating  expensive 
repairs,  and  not  be  more  than  shaken  up. 

Be  ally  there  is  much  less  danger  of  smash-up  s 
than  the  outsider  would  think,  provided  the  avia- 
tor is  a  careful  driver.  The  main  thing  is  to 
have  great  judgment  in  choosing  a  time  for  flights. 
An  inexperienced  aviator  should  never  take  up 
his  machine  in  an  unsteady  wind  of  greater  veloc- 


AVIATION  FOE  AMATEUES         257 

ity  than  ten  miles  an  hour.  The  less  wind  the 
better,  for  the  beginner.  The  dangerous  wind  is 
the  puffy,  gusty  sort,  and  this  should  be  avoided 
by  any  but  the  most  experienced  aviator.  It  must 
be  remembered,  however,  that  it  is  the  variations 
and  not  the  velocity  of  the  wind  which  causes 
trouble. 

Another  item  of  expense  to  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration is  the  transportation  of  an  aeroplane 
from  one  place  to  another,  for  it  does  not  always 
go  on  its  own  wings.  This,  however,  is  neither 
difficult  nor  expensive.  I  am  able,  for  example, 
to  take  down  my  machines  and  pack  them  in  spe- 
cially constructed  boxes  so  that  they  take  up  but 
a  comparatively  small  space  for  shipment.  The 
setting  up  process  is  not  difficult,  nor  even  com- 
plicated, and  can  be  performed  by  any  one  having 
had  the  proper  instructional  term  at  a  first-class 
aviation  school.  An  illustration  shows  an  aero- 
plane, in  its  case,  carried  on  an  automobile. 

With  regard  to  safety  as  a  steady,  every-day 
means  of  transportation,  all  of  us,  in  and  out  of 
the  profession,  know  that,  as  Mr.  Hudson  Maxim 
has  said,  to  make  the  aeroplane  a  common  vehicle 
for,  say,  the  commuter,  "It  must  be  improved  so 
that  flights  shall  become  more  a  function  of  the 
machine  and  less  a  function  of  the  aviator. "  At 
present  a  great  deal  depends  upon  the  man  who 
is  flying — especially  upon  his  quick  and  accurate 
judgment  and  his  power  to  execute  his  judgment 


258     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

instantly  and  automatically.  The  man  who  buys 
an  aeroplane  to  fly  knows  this  beforehand  and 
takes  it  into  account;  indeed  it  is  a  question 
whether,  if  the  flying  machine  were  as  safe  as  a 
rocking-chair,  there  would  be  so  much  fascination 
about  it;  but  while  the  aviator  will  always  have 
to  take  into  account,  no  matter  how  the  mechan- 
ism may  be  improved,  a  certain  element  of  dan- 
ger that  must  attend  it,  he  may  as  well  remember, 
to  quote  Mr.  Maxim  once  more,  that  "the  tenure 
of  life  of  no  automobilist  is  stronger  than  his 
steering  gear." 

It  certainly  is  not  looking  too  far  ahead  to  fore- 
cast the  entrance  of  the  aeroplane  into  the  com- 
muter's life.  The  great  mass  of  the  people  cer- 
tainly will  not  take  the  air-line,  any  more  than 
they  are  now  coming  in  by  automobile  every 
morning,  and  yet  how  many  business  men — and 
not  necessarily  the  richest — do  make  the  trip,  that 
twice  a  day  they  used  to  take  in  a  railroad  car,  in 
the  open  air,  with  the  exhilarating  breezes  of 
their  own  automobiles?  Perhaps  not  these  same 
business  men,  but  a  corresponding  class,  will  un- 
doubtedly reduce  the  dull  hours  of  train  travel 
by  half  and  turn  them  into  hours  of  delight  by 
the  popularisation  of  aeroplane  transportation. 
As  has  been  the  case  with  every  means  of  trans- 
portation that  has  shortened  time  of  travel,  the 
habitable  zones  around  cities  will  grow  larger  and 
larger  as  places  hitherto  inaccessible  open  before 


AVIATION  FOE  AMATEURS         259 

the  coming  of  the  swiftest  form  of  transportation 
known  to  man,  and  the  only  one  not  dependent 
upon  the  earth's  surface,  whether  mountain, 
swamp,  or  river,  to  shape  its  course. 

If  we  had  a  course  only  a  few  hundred  feet  wide 
from  New  York  to  St.  Louis  or  Chicago,  aero- 
planes could  go  through  every  day  and  there 
would  be  little  danger ;  indeed,  even  as  things  are 
now,  it  would  be  a  much  safer  method  of  travel 
than  by  automobile,  as  well  as  of  course  much 
faster.  Long  lanes  with  grass  on  each  side  and 
an  automobile  highway  in  the  middle  would  be  of 
the  greatest  advantage  to  both  forms  of  travel. 
In  crossing  mountains  on  the  downhill  side  an 
aeroplane  could  glide  for  long  distances  at  an 
angle  of  one  to  five,  so  that  if  the  elevation  were 
a  mile  high  it  could  glide  five  miles  before  land- 
ing. And  on  the  up-hill  side  it  could  of  course 
land  immediately  and  with  ease. 

To  return  to  the  amateur,  it  is  always  better  to 
go  around  an  object  that  you  can  not  land  on  im- 
mediately. Landing  is  indeed  one  of  the  most 
important  points  for  the  amateur  aviator  to  con- 
sider. If  it  is  possible,  watch  all  accidents  and 
study  them  closely.  I  take  every  means  I  can  to 
learn  what  causes  an  accident  so  as  to  guard 
against  it  myself.  Strictly  speaking  almost  ev- 
erything about  the  art  of  aviation  is  being  learned 
by  experimentation  and  the  causes  of  accidents, 
while  not  always  exactly  ascertainable,  are  of 


260     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

the  greatest  interest  to  builders  and  operators  of 
flying  machines,  for  out  of  the  accidents  of  to-day 
often  come  the  improvements  of  to-morrow. 

While  learning,  and  indeed  whenever  possible, 
you  should  examine  the  ground  before  attempting 
to  fly  over  it.  The  pupil  should  inspect  every  inch 
of  the  course  over  which  he  is  to  fly,  by  walking 
carefully  over  it,  noticing  all  the  holes  and  ob- 
structions in  the  ground.  Then  should  it  be  nec- 
essary to  land,  for  any  cause  whatever,  he  will 
know  instinctively  where  to  land  and  what  to 
avoid  in  landing.  Keep  away  from  other  aero- 
planes, for  the  wind-wash  in  their  wake  may  tip 
up  your  plane  and  cause  serious  trouble. 

My  advice  to  the  amateur  begins  and  ends  with 
one  injunction:  "Go  slow."  Yes,  for  more  than 
a  month,  "Go  slow."  It  is  hard  to  resist  the 
temptation  to  try  to  do  stunts;  with  a  certain 
amount  of  familiarity  with  your  machine,  so  that 
you  feel  you  could  do  a  great  deal  more  than  you 
are  doing,  and  with  some  experienced  and  confi- 
dent performer  all  but  turning  somersaults  with 
his  machine  over  your  head,  to  the  delight  of  the 
crowd,  it  is  hard  to  resist  giving  one's  self  the 
thrill  that  comes  from  taking  a  risk  and  not  being 
caught,  but  you  will  do  the  stunts  all  the  better 
for  going  slow  at  first. 

Mr.  Charles  Battell  Loomis,  the  late  American 
humourist,  said  once,  in  talking  about  the  opening 
of  the  fields  of  air: 


AVIATION  FOR  AMATEURS         261 

"It  was  thought  that  the  automobile  was  a  ma- 
chine of  danger,  but  the  aeroplane  has  made  it 
comparatively  safe.  A  man  in  an  aeroplane  a 
mile  above  the  earth,  taking  his  first  lesson  all 
by  himself,  is  in  a  perilous  position.  He  has  not 
one  chance  in  a  thousand  of  ever  owning  another 
machine. 

"A  man  who  will  fly  over  a  city  full  of  hard- 
working people  is  a  selfish  brute.  Until  a  man  is 
absolutely  sure  of  himself  he  should  always  fly 
with  a  good-sized  net  suspended  beneath  his  ma- 
chine. 

"The  man  in  the  street  has  always  hated  new 
things.  He  hated  velocipedes,  then  bicycles,  then 
safeties,  then  automobiles,  then  motorcycles,  but 
he  has  not  yet  learned  to  hate  the  aeroplane.  But 
wait  until  monkey  wrenches  begin  to  fall  on 
Broadway  or  beginners  begin  to  fall  on  the  man 
in  the  street.  Then  he  will  be  mad  at  the  aero- 
plane— if  there  is  anything  left  of  him." 

Allowing  for  the  humorous  exaggeration,  there 
is  this  element  of  truth  in  this — that  mechanical 
flight  has  as  yet  a  strong  element  of  uncertainty. 

Yet  there  are  certainly  wonderful  stunts  to  be 
done  with  a  flying  machine,  and  the  fun  is  as  much 
in  the  effect  on  the  flier  as  on  the  audience ;  per- 
haps even  more  so.  I  would  fly  for  the  mere 
sport  if  I  were  not  in  the  business,  for  there  is  a 
fascination  about  flying  that  it  is  unnecessary  to 
explain  and  difficult  to  resist.  You  can  chart  cur- 


262     THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

rents  of  the  sea,  but  the  wind  is  such  a  capricious 
element  that  though  there  are,  so  to  speak,  outline 
maps  that  could  be  made  of  the  general  direction 
of  the  winds,  there  will  always  be  a  certain  un- 
certainty about  their  conduct.  Nevertheless  there 
are  so  much  greater  possibilities  in  flying  than 
in  any  other  of  the  arts,  that  it  is  no  wonder  the 
amateur  wants  to  develop  them.  And  in  conclu- 
sion I  can  say  that  an  aeroplane  in  perfect  con- 
dition is  as  safe  as  an  automobile  going  at  the 
same  speed — and  I  mean  it  I 


CHAPTER  III 

HOW  IT  FEELS  TO  FLY 
(By  Augustus  Post.) 

THERE  is  no  one  question  that  people  ask 
more  often  than:  "How  does  it  feel  to  fly!" 
Perhaps  a  passenger  feels  more  keenly  the  sen- 
sations of  flight  than  an  aviator  because  his  mind 
is  not  taken  up  with  the  operation  of  the  controls. 

As  for  the  passenger,  he  climbs  into  the  flying 
machine,  takes  his  seat  beside  the  operator,  and 
becomes  at  once  the  centre  of  interest  to  all  the 
people  standing  by.  If  he  is  himself  an  aviator 
it  is  another  matter,  but  if  it  is  his  first  experience 
in  the  air,  he  is  usually  the  object  of  a  certain 
shuddering  admiration,  not  unmixed  with  envy. 

The  motor  is  started,  making  a  terrific  noise 
that  almost  deafens  him,  and  quite  drowns  the 
parting  speeches  and  the  eff erts  of  the  funny  men 
present  to  improve  the  occasion.  With  perfect 
calm,  without  the  least  excitement,  the  aviator 
listens  to  the  noise  of  the  motor;  he  hears  it  run 
and  carefully  notes  the  regularity  of  the  explo- 
sions. When  all  is  ready,  he  waves  his  hand — 
the  signal  for  the  man  holding  the  machine  to  let 
go.  The  machine  runs  along  the  ground,  gather- 

263 


264     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

ing  speed,  bounces  a  little,  so  that  one  hardly 
knows  when  it  leaves  the  ground;  the  front  con- 
trol is  raised,  and  the  machine  is  in  the  air. 

You  feel  the  rushing  of  the  wind,  and  things  be- 
low seem  dancing  about  down  there.  The  ma- 
chine keeps  its  exquisite  poise  in  the  air,  sensitive 
to  the  slightest  movement  of  the  control.  As  it 
rises,  the  forward  plane  is  turned  a  little  down, 
and  as  the  machine  varies  in  its  elevation,  the 
plane  is  turned  to  bring  it  back  to  the  level ;  it  tips 
a  little  to  one  side  and  the  aviator  moves,  as  it 
were  instinctively,  to  correct  the  balance.  The 
rush  of  the  wind  by  your  face  becomes  more  vio- 
lent, and  the  machine  pitches  and  balances  as  if 
it  were  suspended  by  a  string  or  by  some  unseen 
force  which  holds  it  up  in  the  air. 

When  the  flight  nears  its  end  and  the  machine 
flies  low  over  the  aviation  field,  the  fences  and 
trees  there  seem  in  a  moment  to  be  rushing  to 
meet  one.  The  planes  are  pointed  downwards, 
the  machine  descends,  is  caught  up  again  by  the 
control,  and  glides  along  level  with  the  ground, 
skimming  just  above  the  grass.  The  wind  moves 
it  a  little  side  wise,  perhaps,  but  the  pilot,  with  the 
rudder,  straightens  the  machine  around  until  it 
points  right  into  the  wind's  eye  and  the  wheels  are 
parallel  with  the  direction  of  the  machine  over  the 
ground.  The  control  now  causes  the  machine  to 
come  lower  until  the  wheels  strike  the  ground — 
it  rolls  along — bounces  a  little  over  the  rough  field 


g 


BBHBBBI 


(A)   AUGUSTUS  POST  FLYING  AT  THE  FIRST  HARVARD-BOSTON  MEET 
(B)    AN  AEROPLANE   PACKED   FOR  SHIPMENT— POST  DRIVING 


CURTISS'    PUPILS 

(A)   J   A    D    McCurdy  racing  against  automobile,  Daytona  Beach.     (B)    Lieu- 
tenant T.  G.  Ellyson,  U.   S.  N.      (C)    Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  B.  Atwater,  pupils  at 

San   Diego 


HOW  IT  FEELS  TO  FLY  265 

— the  brake  is  set,  and  the  machine  comes  to  a 
stop. 

The  aviator  jumps  down,  the  passenger  climbs 
out  with  somewhat  less  agility,  perhaps,  and  ex- 
presses his  very  hearty  thanks,  the  plane  is 
turned  around,  the  propeller  started,  and  the 
machine  flies  off  again,  leaving  the  passenger  to 
tramp  slowly  through  the  grass,  contemplating 
the  insignificance  of  the  human  creature  who  is 
forced  to  walk  humbly  along  the  ground.  You 
may  remember  that  the  first  time  you  descended 
from  an  automobile  and  began  to  walk,  you  seemed 
to  yourself  to  be  only  marking  time. 

This  new  experience,  though  of  the  same  nature 
as  that,  is  far  more  impressive ;  not  alone  the  dif- 
ference in  speed,  but  the  whole  character  of  the 
motion — the  altitude,  the  rushing  wind,  the  sense 
of  something  long  awaited  and  now  realised — 
sets  the  sensation  of  flight  apart  from  any  other, 
and  makes  him  who  once  experiences  it  resolved 
to  repeat  the  experience  as  soon  and  as  often  as 
possible. 

The  passenger  is  at  once  the  object  of  eager 
inquiries  as  to  how  he  felt,  and  he  usually  makes 
it  his  business  to  express  his  satisfaction  when- 
ever asked  and  sometimes  without  being  asked, 
so  there  is  little  wonder  that  aviators  are  besieged 
by  applicants  for  rides.  A  few  months  ago  a 
lady  who  had  been  a  passenger  in  an  aeroplane 
was  certain  to  get  her  picture  in  the  papers ;  now 


266     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

there  are  so  many  that  it  would  be  difficult  even 
to  keep  a  record  of  them. 

Now  that  we  are  coming  to  regard  the  aero- 
plane seriously,  more  from  the  practical  and  less 
from  the  grandstand  side,  it  may  be  noted  with- 
out fear  of  loss  to  gate  receipts,  that  its  dangers 
have  been  greatly  exaggerated.  Eational  flight 
is  hardly  any  more  hazardous  than  motor  speed- 
ing, steeple  chasing,  and  many  other  sports,  not 
to  mention  football!  Engines  stop  and  planes 
split,  but  steering  gear  breaks  and  horses  stum- 
ble. Danger  lurks  everywhere,  but  we  disregard 
it  because  the  chances  are  long  in  our  favour. 

The  real  danger  in  aviation  lies  in  the  chances 
men  take  as  desire  lays  hold  upon  them;  chances 
the  dangers  of  which  they  fully  realise,  but  disre- 
gard for  various  causes.  There  are  so-called 
"holes  in  the  air,"  but  they  are  hardly  more  nu- 
merous than  gullies  in  the  road.  High  wind  is 
dangerous,  but  the  aviator  can  often  avoid  its 
perils  if  he  will.  Briefly,  aviation  confined  to  its 
now  well-defined  limitations,  is  a  thoroughly  ra- 
tional sport. 

The  "queer"  sensation  of  flight  comes  in  a 
quick  rise,  dip  or  short  turn,  and  you  can  experi- 
ence the  same  sensation  in  the  elevator  of  a 
New  York  sky-scraper,  Ferris  wheel,  shoot-the- 
chutes  or  even  the  back  yard  swing,  for  that  mat- 
ter! Dizziness  from  height  is  not  experienced, 
for  one  sees  the  landscape  spread  out  from  high 


HOW  IT  FEELS  TO  FLY  267 

up  and  afar  off,  as  if  from  a  sheltered  balcony; 
the  tendency  is  not  to  look  down  but  away. 

While  the  rush  of  air  is  tremendous,  it  is  not 
disagreeable,  and  one  even  forgets  the  deafening, 
unmuffled  motor  in  the  indescribable  joys,  mainly 
because  of  the  wondrous  charm  and  variety  of  the 
landscape  which  we  have  known  only  in  detail, 
ignorant  of  its  beauty  as  a  mass.  Apprehension, 
shuddering,  gruesome,  childish  apprehension  per- 
haps, at  the  starting,  replaced  by  profound  se- 
curity as  mastery,  perfect  mastery,  is  apparent; 
a  sense  of  joyous  freedom  following  as  the  mar- 
vellous world  below  is  revealed.  Like  an  exqui- 
site monotone  in  low  relief  it  is,  each  note  of  col- 
our with  its  value  and  in  perfect  harmony  with 
the  whole ;  ever  subtly  changing,  always  some  new 
surprise,  some  unexpected  revelation,  lifting  one 
on  the  wings  of  exaltation. 

The  popular  literary  vehicle  of  to-day,  rivalling 
the  "  fairy  coach  of  Cinderella, "  is  without  ques- 
tion the  alluring  aeroplane,  fitted  with  all  the 
latest  improvements :  tachometer,  inclinometer, 
animometer,  barograph,  aneroid,  compass  with 
map  holders,  lights,  and  all  the  modern  conven- 
iences and  aviation  equipment,  including  a  wire- 
less telegraph  outfit,  having  shock  absorbers  for 
landing  and  an  enclosed  limousine  cabin  with  mica 
or  celluloid  windows,  in  which  not  only  can  our 
spirits  be  wafted  about,  but  in  which  we  may  en- 
joy all  the  material  comforts  of  speedy  travel, 


268     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

free  from  present  annoyances  and  inconveniences, 
and  without  requiring  the  inflated  rubber  suits 
which  Mr.  Eudyard  Kipling  so  kindly  provided 
for  his  passengers  on  board  the  now  famous 
11  Night  Mail."  Vehicles  of  this  description  al- 
ready exist  and  an  "aero-bus"  has  carried  as 
many  as  thirteen  passengers  besides  its  driver. 
It  is  confidently  predicted  that  twenty  passengers 
will  soon  be  carried  in  an  aeroplane  at  one  time. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  in  flying  the  higher 
faculties  are  called  into  play.  No  such  elaborate 
preparation  is  necessary  for  learning  to  drive  an 
automobile,  but  some  instruction  is  usually  found 
necessary  when  learning  how  to  balance  a  bicycle 
for  the  first  time  and  until  confidence  is  secured, 
as  is  also  the  case  in  learning  to  swim.  A  good 
chauffeur  does  not  necessarily  make  a  good  avia- 
tor even  though  he  have  exceptional  ability  as  a 
driver  of  racing  automobiles,  although  I  think 
that  an  aviator  might  make  a  good  driver  of  a 
racing  automobile.  This  seems  to  indicate  clearly 
to  my  mind  that  there  is  some  additional  quality 
required  in  flying.  I  know  of  one  case  where  a 
successful  automobile  builder  and  driver  killed 
himself  on  account  of  desperation  over  the  fact 
that  he  could  not  master  flying. 

Actors  and  men  with  a  keen  sense  of  feeling 
seem  to  do  well  in  the  air.  They  seem  to  get  the 
"feel  of  the  air,"  or  to  have  the  delicate  sense 
of  touch  which  is  required  to  handle  an  aeroplane 


HOW  IT  FEELS  TO  FLY  269 

among  the  illusive  vagaries  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  to  be  able  to  sense  its  rapid  action  and  feel 
its  ever-changing  conditions  almost  before  they 
take  effect.  One  must  be  absolutely  en  rapport 
with  his  machine,  as  an  expert  horseman  is  part 
of  his  horse  or  his  horse  is  part  of  him;  such  a 
rider  stands  out  from  all  the  rest,  a  beautiful  sight 
to  see  and  an  expression  of  the  poetry  of  motion ; 
such  also  is  the  manner  of  the  master  at  the 
piano,  whose  very  soul  is  in  tune  and  vibrating 
with  every  subtle  and  rich  harmony  of  the  instru- 
ment, feeling  at  the  same  time  the  ever-changing 
mood  of  his  audience  as  he  sways  them  or  is 
swayed  by  them  in  turn,  keeping  in  close  sym- 
pathy with  their  thoughts  as  well  as  suggesting 
to  their  minds  the  trend  that  they  shall  take. 

AVIATING  AND   BALLOONING 

The  sensations  which  an  aviator  has  during 
great  flights  of  both  duration  and  altitude  are 
somewhat  comparable  to  those  of  the  balloon 
pilot 1  who  sails  in  the  sky  far  above  the  earth, 

i  Mr.  Post  is  not  only  intimately  connected  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  aeroplane  but  also  one  of  the  most  capable  practical 
balloon-pilots  in  the  world.  Mr.  Post  accompanied  Mr.  Allan  R. 
Hawley  in  October,  1910,  when  the  balloon  "America  II,"  repre- 
senting the  United  States,  broke  the  world's  competition  record 
and  won  the  Gordon  Bennett  balloon  cup  by  sailing  one  thousand 
one  hundred  seventy-two  miles — from  St.  Louis  to  Lake  Tschoto- 
gama,  in  the  wilds  of  Quebec.  The  trip  took  forty-six  hours. 
This  record  still  stands  as  American  distance  record.  Mr.  Post 


270     THE  CUBTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

feeling  a  peculiar  realisation  of  the  immediate 
presence  of  the  Supreme  Being,  overwhelmed 
with  the  magnitude  of  the  universe,  with  a  sense 
of  being  a  part  of  it,  untrammelled,  unaffected  by 
ordinary  things,  surrounded  with  extraordinary 
conditions,  supersensitive  and  yet  keenly  realis- 
ing, now,  matters  of  vast  importance;  now,  mi- 
nutely weighing  his  life  in  his  hands  as  if  it  were 
something  far  removed  from  himself;  breathing 
an  air  full  of  vigour  and  inspiration,  with  a  sense 
of  exaltation  pervading  every  cell  of  the  body — 
is  it  a  wonder  that  men  enjoy  such  delights  and 
really  live  only  when  they  can  cast  off  mere  ex- 
istence and  rise  either  to  the  contemplation  of 
such  experiences  by  reading  and  thinking  about 
them  or  to  a  full  realisation  of  these  experiences 
by  actually  trying  them  out  personally?  Such 
moments,  rapidly  passing — moments  each  going 
to  make  up  our  individual  life — are  usually  but 
too  few. 

Is  it  then  a  wonder,  that,  after  actual  days  of 
such  vivid  living,  upon  descending  to  earth  or 
coming  back  among  people,  one  should  look  at 
those  who  gather  around  about  one  as  some  kind 
of  lower  order  of  animal,  that  it  should  take  a 
few  moments  to  feel  their  presence  gradually 
dawning  upon  him,  and  to  bring  his  faculties 
slowly  back  where  they  can  begin  to  understand 

also  holds,  with  Mr.  Clifford  B.  Harmon,  the  American  endurance 
record  of  forty-eight  hours,  twenty-six  minutes. — THE  PUBLISHERS. 


HOW  IT  FEELS  TO  FLY  271 

what  these  bystanders  are  thinking  and  talking 
about? 

This  seems  but  a  dream,  but  is  in  reality  an 
actual  experience  of  a  return  to  earth  after  two 
days  spent  in  the  air  and  a  visit  to  regions  over 
four  miles  above  its  surface,  much  of  the  time 
out  of  sight  of  this  dear  old  sphere,  when  ears 
had  become  unaccustomed  to  sound,  and  so  im- 
paired by  the  change  of  pressure  due  to  the  high 
altitude  that  we  could  not,  for  some  time  after 
landing,  hear  when  spoken  to.  Our  own  voices 
rang  hollow  and  stuck  in  our  throats,  and  our 
thought  had  become  unattuned  to  those  expressed 
by  the  gaping,  wondering  crowd,  struck  dumb  at 
the  sight  of  our  arrival,  and  standing  like  cows 
in  the  pasture  when  you  walk  among  them. 

Such  is  the  state  of  mind  in  store  for  the  air- 
man, the  artist,  the  thinker,  the  person  desiring 
to  become  isolated  for  a  while — to  feel  as  Adam 
felt  in  all  reality,  when  he  stood  in  the  midst  of 
the  garden  of  Eden,  monarch  of  all  he  surveyed. 
This  appeals  strangely  to  the  imagination  but 
when  it  becomes  a  reality  by  virtue  of  actual  ex- 
perience, it  also  becomes  a  sensation  most  difficult 
to  express;  for  so  few  people  understand  what 
you  are  talking  about,  few  having  had  the  sensa- 
tions of  being  removed  from  this  world  and  com- 
ing back  again  to  it. 


CHAPTEE  IV 

OPERATING  A  HYDROAEROPLANE 
(By  Hugh  Robinson.) 

THE  general  impression  among  aviators  and 
manufacturers  of  aeroplanes  is  that  the 
hydroaeroplane  is  rapidly  becoming  the  flying 
craft  of  the  future,  by  reason  of  its  ease  of  con- 
trol, extensive  bodies  of  water  upon  which  to 
operate  it,  and,  above  all,  its  safety. 

It  is  practically  impossible  for  the  operator  of 
a  hydroaeroplane  to  suffer  injury  in  case  of  acci- 
dent. Even  in  the  worst  kind  of  an  accident,  the 
most  that  can  happen  to  the  operator  is  an  ex- 
hilarating plunge  into  salt  or  fresh  water  as  the 
case  may  be,  with  the  beneficial  effects  of  a  good 
swim  if  so  desired,  otherwise,  the  operator  may 
" stand  by"  the  wreckage,  which  cannot  possibly 
sink.  The  several  pontoons,  together  with  the 
necessary  woodwork  to  construct  the  planes,  etc., 
furnish  ample  buoyancy  to  support  the  machine 
and  operator  even  in  case  of  a  total  wreck,  which 
rarely  ever  happens.  One  can  bang  down  upon 
the  water  with  a  hydro  in  any  old  fashion,  and 
beyond  a  tremendous  splash  nothing  serious  hap- 
pens. 

272 


OPEKATING  A  HYDRO  273 

Of  course,  this  article  refers  entirely  to  the 
Curtiss  hydroaeroplane,  which  I  have  been  oper- 
ating since  its  invention.  The  Curtiss  pontoon  is 
divided  into  six  water-tight  compartments,  three 
of  which  will  support  the  machine  under  average 
conditions.  Recently,  while  the  writer  was 
abroad,  a  demonstration  was  made  of  these  com- 
partments for  safety  in  case  of  accident  to  any 
part  of  the  pontoon. 

This  demonstration  took  place  at  Monaco,  and 
consisted  in  removing  the  drain  plugs  from  two 
compartments,  after  which  the  hydro  with  pilot 
and  passenger  was  pushed  out  into  the  harbour 
and  allowed  to  stand  thirty  minutes  to  let  the 
opened  compartments  fill  with  water,  after  which 
the  motor  was  started  and  a  flight  made  without 
the  slightest  difficulty. 

The  operation  of  a  hydro  is  very  similar  to 
that  of  the  ordinary  land  machine — only,  if  any- 
thing, considerably  easier  and  more  simple.  The 
start  of  the  hydro  is  simply  starting  the  motor 
while  the  hydro  is  resting  on  the  land  or  bank 
of  the  lake  or  river,  with  the  front  towards  the 
water.  The  operator  takes  his  place,  and  on 
opening  the  throttle  gradually  the  thrust  of  the 
motor  slides  the  apparatus  along  the  ground,  or 
planks  if  ground  be  unsuitable,  and  into  the  wa- 
ter. The  pontoons  being  fitted  underneath  with 
steel  shod  runners  makes  it  possible  to  start  on 
rocks,  gravel,  or  in  fact  most  any  reasonable  sur- 


274     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

face.  The  finish  can  be  made  in  the  same  man- 
ner, without  assistance. 

It  is  possible  to  start  the  hydro  on  dry  land  if 
the  surface  is  reasonably  smooth,  with  the  as- 
sistance of  one  or  two  mechanics.  It  is  also  pos- 
sible, in  an  emergency,  even  to  land  on  the  earth 
with  the  hydro  pontoon  attachment;  and,  of 
course,  with  wheels  attached  to  the  landing  gear, 
one  can  come  down  on  land  as  with  the  ordinary 
type  of  machine. 

Once  out  upon  the  water,  the  operator  rapidly 
increases  his  speed  by  opening  the  throttle,  taking 
care,  however,  to  accelerate  gradually,  to  allow 
the  pontoon  to  mount  the  surface  of  the  water 
without  throwing  an  unnecessary  amount  of  water 
into  the  propeller.  Once  a  speed  of  twenty-five 
to  thirty  miles  an  hour  is  obtained,  the  pontoon 
skims  lightly  over  the  surface  of  the  water.  As 
the  ailerons  do  not  become  effective  until  the 
machine  acquires  considerable  speed,  the  small 
floats  on  the  lower  ends  of  wings  maintain  the 
balance  until  necessary  speed  is  acquired.  The 
small  flexible  wooden  paddles  on  the  lower  rear 
ends  of  the  wing  tanks  slide  over  the  water  and 
exert  a  great  lifting  effect,  thus  rigidly  preserv- 
ing the  balance  on  the  water  at  slow  speeds  or 
standing,  and  also  preventing  damage  to  wings  in 
case  a  bad  landing  is  made  whereby  one  wing 
strikes  the  water  first.  In  such  a  case,  instead 
of  the  wing  digging  into  the  water,  the  paddles 


OPERATING  A  HYDRO  275 

cause  a  glancing  blow  which  levels  the  machine 
automatically. 

When  the  machine  has  acquired  a  certain  speed 
it  leaves  the  water  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as 
on  the  land  and  immediately  increases  its  speed, 
due  to  the  released  friction  from  the  water.  It 
also  has  a  slight  tendency  to  jump  into  the  air 
due  to  the  released  friction  between  the  boat  and 
water.  Once  into  the  air,  the  operator  is  the 
same  as  with  the  regular  land-equipped  Curtiss 
aeroplanes. 

The  landing  is  made  in  the  ordinary  manner, 
bearing  in  mind  to  keep  the  boat  as  near  level 
fore  and  aft  as  possible,  and  if  the  water  be  very 
rough  to  allow  the  tail  of  the  machine  to  settle 
on  the  water  first.  This  will  prevent  any  possi- 
bility of  sticking  the  front  of  the  boat  into  an 
unexpected  wave. 

As  should  be  the  case  with  any  aeroplane,  it  is 
advisable  to  start  and  land  against  the  wind  if 
there  be  much,  but  this  is  not  compulsory.  The 
hydro  may  be  landed  even  while  drifting  side- 
ways, in  an  emergency  case.  It  is  obvious  that 
to  do  this  with  a  land  machine  would  be  to  invite 
disaster. 

The  writer  saw  a  forcible  demonstration  of  the 
one  and  two  pontoon  types  of  hydros  during  the 
Hydroaeroplane  Meet  in  France,  and  he  had 
the  only  machine  there  with  the  single  pontoon, 
and  also  the  only  one  able  to  go  out  on  rough 


276     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

water.  He  successfully  made  flights  and  landings 
in  waves  six  to  eight  feet  high,  whereas  three 
hydros  of  the  two  pontoon  type  were  wrecked  in 
waves  less  than  two  feet  high.  The  single  pon- 
toon-equipped hydro  may  be  dragged  out  on  the 
banks  any  place  where  a  space  two  feet  wide  may 
be  obtained,  and  on  my  recent  trip  down  the  Mis- 
sissippi, I  had  occasion  to  rejoice  in  this  fact 
and  put  it  to  a  practical  test,  as  I  was  hauled  out 
on  shores  between  large  rocks  or  stumps  in  sev- 
eral instances.  The  turning  of  the  hydro  is  ac- 
complished by  simply  turning  the  rudder  and 
leaning  towards  the  turn,  the  same  as  on  a  bicycle, 
allowing  the  motor  to  run  on  reduced  or  half 
throttle. 

The  exhilaration  of  flying  a  hydro  cannot  be 
described  on  paper.  It  is  the  fastest  motor  boat 
in  the  world,  and  to  be  able  to  approach  a  launch 
and  jump  over  it  and  observe  the  consternation 
of  the  passengers  is  the  keenest  pleasure  imagin- 
able. 

The  hydro  may  be  used  solely  as  a  motor  boat 
if  desired,  at  a  speed  of  sixty  miles  per  hour, 
without  a  drop  of  water  ever  touching  its  pas- 
sengers, or  if  weather  be  favorable,  flights  may 
be  made  at  will  of  the  operator. 

The  surface  of  a  river  or  lake  offers  the  ideal 
condition  for  landing  or  starting  an  aeroplane, 
and  these  are  more  numerous  than  suitable 
grounds  for  land  machines,  besides  this  the  air 


OPERATING  A  HYDRO  277 

conditions  over  water  are  always  better  than  over 
land,  due  to  its  unbroken  surface,  which  does  not 
obstruct  the  air  currents  as  do  trees,  houses,  etc., 
on  land. 

An  automatic  safeguard  exists  in  the  hydro  to 
prevent  accidents,  such  as  has  caused  the  loss  of 
lives  on  land,  and  that  is  as  follows: 

It  is  possible  to  rise  in  an  ordinary  land  ma- 
chine with  too  little  power  to  make  a  turn  or  climb 
fast,  and  as  a  result  get  a  bad  fall.  Owing  to 
the  fact  that  there  is  a  suction  between  the  water 
and  the  pontoon  it  requires  more  power  actually 
to  leave  the  water  than  to  fly  once  the  plane  is 
in  the  air.  This  fact  prevents  a  hydro  taking 
flight  with  too  little  reserve  flying  ability,  and 
once  in  the  air  the  operator  may  be  sure  of  a  con- 
siderable reserve  of  power  to  enable  him  to  fly 
strongly  and  safely  under  all  conditions. 


PAET  VI 

THE  CURTISS  PUPILS  AND  A  DESCRIPTION 

OF  THE  CURTISS  AEROPLANE  AND 

MOTOR 

BY 

AUGUSTUS  POST 


CHAPTER  I 

PUPILS 

ALL  great  masters  have  been  represented  by 
pupils  who  have  done  honour  to  their 
teacher  and  have  achieved  personal  success  in  a 
large  measure.  Mr.  Curtiss  is  no  exception  to 
this  rule,  for  he  has  taught  more  than  a  hundred 
pupils. 

There  have  been  representatives  of  all  classes 
and  all  nationalities.  The  list  includes  all  trades 
and  professions,  from  horse  trainers  to  bankers. 
And  in  all  these  have  been  pupils  from  thirteen 
nationalities  including  Russians,  Germans, 
French,  Canadians,  Scotch,  Irish,  English,  Jap- 
anese, Indians,  Cubans,  Mexican,  Spaniards,  and 
Greeks. 

Instruction  has  been  given  in  all  languages,  in- 
cluding the  sign  language.  Some  nationalities 
are  naturally  a  little  harder  than  others  to  in- 
struct, largely  because  of  national  characteristics 
of  thought,  and  also  for  the  reason  that  in  a 
southern  climate  those  native  to  it  are  often  un- 
accustomed to  the  rapid  action  necessary  at  times 
in  flying. 

Negroes  have  not  yet  as  a  class  taken  to  avia- 
281 


282     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

tion,  but  there  is  one  Chinaman  in  California, 
Tom  Gun,  who  has  been  successful  as  an  aviator. 
But  conspicuous  among  the  list  of  pupils  is  the 
number  of  Army  and  Navy  officers  of  our  own, 
as  well  as  of  foreign  countries,  that  have  gradu- 
ated from  the  Curtiss  School. 

Hydroaeroplane  operation  has  also  been  taught 
to  a  number  of  pupils  both  at  Hammondsport, 
N.  Y.,  and  at  San  Diego,  California,  where  the 
training  camps  are  located. 

The  life  that  the  pupils  lead  at  these  schools 
is  most  interesting  and  healthful.  The  students 
get  up  early,  sometimes  at  four  in  the  morning, 
when  it  is  just  light  enough  to  see  and  when  the 
air  is  usually  calm  and  the  best  conditions  for 
learning  to  fly  exist.  Pupils  are  outdoors  prac- 
tically all  day,  flying,  or  working  on  the  machines 
when  any  thing  breaks  or  goes  wrong.  Many 
pupils  have  engaged  in  exhibition  flying  after 
completing  their  course  of  instruction,  and  among 
the  large  number  of  very  excellent  aviators  that 
have  followed  in  Mr.  Curtiss'  wing  beats  (for  you 
can  hardly  say  foot  steps)  have  been  some  of  the 
foremost  aviators  in  the  world  and  men  whose 
fame  and  exploits  are  household  words  to-day. 

A  partial  list  of  some  of  these  men  at  present 
active  in  the  field  is  here  given : 

Chas.  F.  Willard,  Hugh  Robinson,  Chas.  K. 
Hamilton,  J.  C.  Mars,  C.  C.  Witmer,  E.  C. 
St.  Henry,  Lincoln  Beachey,  Beckwith  Havens, 


Beckwith  Havens 
Chas.  K.  Hamilton 


CURTISS'  PUPILS 

C.  C.  Witmer 

J.  A.  D.  McCurdy 

Chas.  F.  Walsh 


Cromwell  Dixon 
Chas.  F.  Willard 


LINCOLN  BEACHEY  283 

Lieut.  T.  G.  Ellyson,  U.  S.  N.;  Capt.  P.  W. 
Beck,  U.  S.  A.;  Lieut.  J.  H.  Towers,  U.  S. 
N.;  William  Hoff,  J.  B.  McCalley,  S.  C.  Lewis, 
C.  W.  Shoemaker,  W.  B.  Atwater,  Al.  Mayo,  Al. 
J.  Engle,  J.  Lansing  Callan,  G.  E.  Underwood, 
Irah  D.  Spaulding,  C.  F.  Walsh,  Carl  T.  Sjo- 
lander,  Fred  Hoover,  E.  C.  Malick,  Eipley  Bow- 
man, T.  T.  Maroney,  C.  A.  Berlin,  H.  Park,  W.  M. 
Stark,  E.  H.  McMillan,  F.  J.  Terrill,  Francis 
Wildman,  F.  J.  Southard,  Lieut.  P.  A.  Dumford, 
W.  B.  Hemstrought,  Earl  Sandt,  E.  B.  Eussell, 
Lieut.  J.  E.  McClaskey,  W.  W.  Vaughn,  Barney 
Moran,  M.  Kondo,  J.  G.  Kaminski,  Mohan  Singh, 
K.  Takeishi. 

Among  those  in  this  list  who  have  done  wonder- 
ful things,  it  might  be  interesting  to  mention  some 
of  the  marvellous  feats  of  daring  as  well  as  a  few 
of  the  achievements  of  Lincoln  Beachey,  who  is 
credited  with  being  the  greatest  exhibition  aviator 
in  the  world. 

At  the  meet  in  Chicago  in  the  summer  of  1911, 
Beachey  flew  more  miles  than  any  other  aviator. 
He  flew  all  the  time  and  was  in  the  air  during  all 
the  flying  hours  in  one  contest  or  another.  He 
did  all  the  special  tricks  in  the  air  that  were 
known,  he  carried  passengers,  won  speed  races, 
and  established  a  new  world's  altitude  record  at 
11,642  feet.  After  flying  as  high  as  he  could,  at 
Chicago,  with  a  seven  gallon  tank  full  of  gasoline, 
Beachey  came  down  and  said:  " To-morrow  I'll 


284     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

go  higher. "  He  had  a  ten  gallon  tank  fitted  to 
his  machine,  filled  it  full  up  to  the  top,  and  started 
right  up  from  where  his  machine  was  standing  on 
the  ground,  so  as  not  to  waste  a  drop  of  gasoline, 
and  flew  up  and  up  until  it  was  completely  ex- 
hausted and  his  motor  thus  compelled  to  stop,  but 
not  until  he  had  set  the  world's  record  at  11,642 
feet.  He  deliberately  started  out  on  this  trip  to 
climb  up  as  long  as  his  fuel  would  last.  He  knew 
his  motor  would  stop  and  he  would  have  to  glide 
down.  It  was  not  an  unintended  glide  but  it 
was  the  longest  glide  on  record.  He  brought  out 
all  the  points  and  possibilities  of  his  machine; 
distance,  speed,  weight-carrying,  and  altitude. 
Wilbur  Wright  said:  "Beachey  is  the  most  won- 
derful flyer  I  ever  saw  and  the  greatest  aviator  of 
all."  Calbraith  P.  Bodgers  said  upon  his  ar- 
rival at  Los  Angeles  after  flying  across  the  Amer- 
ican continent,  a  distance  of  over  four  thousand 
miles,  "  Beachey 's  daring  flight  down  the  gorge 
of  Niagara  and  through  the  spray  of  the  falls  was 
a  greater  achievement  than  mine."  Beachey  has 
been  remarkably  free  from  serious  accidents  even 
though  now  he  pitches  straight  down  from  the 
sky,  seeming  to  fall  straight  to  the  earth  and  just 
catching  his  machine  up  in  time  to  avoid  striking 
the  earth. 

At  Hammondsport  on  July  29th,  1912,  Beachey 
was  trying  out  a  new  model  military  type  and  he 
ascended  six  thousand  five  hundred  feet  in  fifteen 


LINCOLN  BEACHEY  285 

minutes,  while  he  came  down  in  one  minute,  mak- 
ing one  of  his  perpendicular  dives  with  the  engine 
still.  The  whistling  of  the  wind  through  the  taut 
wires  of  the  machine  could  be  heard  half  a  mile 
away.  On  this  occasion  one  of  the  lady  visitors 
to  the  testing  grounds,  who  had  never  seen 
Beachey  fly  before,  thinking  that  he  was  falling 
and  would  surely  strike  the  ground  and  be 
dashed  to  pieces,  fainted.  Beachey  said,  "Fly- 
ing did  not  come  to  me  at  first  but  it  seemed  to 
come  all  of  a  sudden  and  then  it  came  big."  l 

Once  Beachey  had  to  land  in  a  very  small  place 
surrounded  with  trees  and  the  only  way  he  could 
do  it  with  the  fast  machine  that  he  was  driving 
was  to  kill  its  speed  in  the  air  by  skimming  over 
the  trees,  shutting  off  his  motor,  and  gliding  along 
to  the  place  where  he  wanted  to  stop,  and  then 

i  Ralph  Johnstone  said  in  a  conversation  about  experiences 
while  learning  to  fly,  "I  learned  to  fly  all  right  but  one  day  when 
I  was  up  in  the  air  pretty  high  I  seemed  to  forget  all  about  it 
and  how  to  operate  the  controls.  I  tried  them  and  tested  how 
they  worked  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  learned  all  over  again,  but 
it  did  seem  funny  to  me  for  just  a  few  minutes."  Geo.  W. 
Beatty  said,  "When  I  was  flying  at  Chicago,  in  the  contest  for 
duration,  when  the  weather  was  calm,  and  I  had  nothing  else  to 
do  but  sit  and  think  while  the  machine  flew  on,  round  and  round, 
lap  after  lap,  I  would  look  out  at  a  wire  and  watch  it  as  it  vi- 
brated and  wonder  if  it  was  possible  for  it  to  break,  while  I 
realised  that  I  could  not  get  out  to  fix  it.  This  worried  me 
more  than  flying  in  a  high  wind.  It  seems  more  natural  for  me 
to  fly  than  not  to.  I  have  been  in  the  air  on  an  average  of  two 
hours  every  day  for  over  a  year." 


286     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

pointing  the  machine  up  suddenly,  very  much  as 
a  bird  comes  to  a  stop,  and  then  "  pancaking " 
down,  as  it  is  called  when  you  come  down  "  ker- 
flop "  like  a  pancake. 

Beachey  broke  a  wheel  by  this  performance  and 
he  has  worried  over  that  little  breakage  as  much 
as  another  man  would  over  smashing  up  a  whole 
machine. 

Beachey  flew  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia 
in  company  with  Eugene  Ely  and  Hugh  Eobinson 
in  August,  1911,  winning  the  first  inter-city  race  to 
be  held  in  the  United  States. 

Among  the  skilled  operators  of  hydroaeroplanes 
is  Mr.  Hugh  Eobinson  who  flew  down  the  Missis- 
sippi Eiver  in  the  spring  of  1912,  carrying  mail 
and  covering  the  river  course  between  Minneapo- 
lis, Minn.,  and  Eock  Island,  111.  Mr.  Eobinson 
also  went  to  France  in  May  of  1912,  and  com- 
peted in  the  first  contests  and  races  ever  held  in 
this  new  sport  at  Monte  Carlo.  Since  his  return 
to  America,  Mr.  Eobinson  has  been  the  instructor 
in  hydroaeroplaning  at  Hammondsport. 


CHAPTER  II 

A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  CURTISS  BIPLANE 

NO  type  of  aeroplane  is  more  familiar  in 
America  than  the  Curtiss  biplane.  By  long 
experimentation,  this  machine  has  been  developed 
for  practical  use;  and  is  now  used  for  military 
purposes  in  Eussia,  Japan,  Italy,  Germany, 
France,  and  the  United  States.  The  machine  is 
of  the  general  type  known  as  "  biplane, "  in  which 
there  are  two  sets  of  wings,  or  surfaces,  one  being 
directly  above  the  other.  This  type  of  machine 
seems  to  be  the  most  favoured  by  Americans,  for 
it  not  only  allows  of  a  greater  spread  of  lifting 
surface  for  a  given  width  of  plane  than  in  the 
monoplane,  or  single-wing  type,  but  also  it  is 
much  stronger  than  other  machines  of  the  same 
weight,  as  its  design  permits  of  a  system  of 
bridge-trussing  known  as  the  " Pratt  Truss." 
In  the  Curtiss  machine  this  feature  is  especially 
pronounced,  because  of  the  greater  safety  which 
rigid  planes  have  when  compared  with  the  flexi- 
ble wings. 

The  woodwork  of  these  aeroplanes  is  entirely 
of  selected  spruce  and  ash,  all  the  posts,  beams, 
and  ribs  being  laminated.  The  propeller  is  a  par- 

287 


288     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

ticularly  difficult  piece  of  laminated  work,  being 
built  up  of  from  twelve  to  eighteen  layers  of  thinly 
cut  wood,  while  the  upright  posts  of  the  central 
section  are  made  up  of  ash  and  spruce,  the  heav- 
ier and  more  flexible  wood  forming  the  core.  A 
feature  of  strength  is  to  be  found  in  the  double 
trussing  which  is  placed  in  all  of  the  vital  parts 
of  the  aeroplane,  where  the  greatest  strength  is 
required.  All  this  trussing  is  made  with  a  cable 
of  galvanised  steel  wire  tested  to  withstand  a 
pulling  strain  of  nearly  half  a  ton. 

Transportation  and  military  use  have  been  es- 
pecially considered  in  the  construction  of  the 
planes.  The  upper  and  lower  planes  are  made 
up  of  interchangeable  panels,  which  are  so  joined 
together  that  the  machine  is  easily  assembled  and 
taken  apart  and  may  be  transported  compactly 
in  two  flat  boxes  which  scarcely  make  one  full 
wagon  load,  as  indicated  in  an  illustration  in  this 
book. 

The  wing-panels  are  made  up  with  a  light  and 
strong  wooden  framework  covered  with  cloth  es- 
pecially made  and  treated  with  a  rubber  coating 
for  the  purpose.  The  curved  ribs  are  laminated 
also  and  the  panels  held  together  by  a  system  of 
trussing  which  gives  them  great  strength.  These 
panels  are  covered  both  top  and  bottom. 

Light  and  strong  bamboo  rods  extend  to  the 
front  of  the  main  planes,  supporting  the  elevator 
or  forward  horizontal  surface,  which  acts  as  a 


BIPLANE  PAETS  289 

rudder  to  steer  upward  and  downward.  Similar 
bamboo  rods  at  the  rear  support  the  vertical  rud- 
der and  rear  elevators  and  stabilising  plane. 
Front  and  rear  elevators  work  in  conjunction 
with  each  other  so  that  as  the  front  of  the  ma- 
chine is  directed  up,  the  rear  of  the  machine  is 
depressed  by  the  two  rear  elevators,  called  "  flip- 
pers "  from  their  resemblance  to  these  append- 
ages of  a  seal  or  a  turtle,  each  of  which  is  con- 
trolled by  an  individual  set  of  cables,  so  that  if 
one  should  break  or  get  out  of  order  the  other 
may  be  used  independently.  The  front  or  rear 
elevators  are  sufficient  to  maintain  the  fore  and 
aft  balance  of  the  machine  in  flight,  so  if  any- 
thing happens  to  one  the  other  will  enable  a  safe 
landing  to  be  made.  Some  aviators  take  off  the 
front  elevating  plane  entirely,  relying  solely  upon 
the  two  rear  ones  for  horizontal  control. 

The  elevators  and  the  vertical  rudder  are  ma- 
nipulated by  a  single  steering  post  at  the  top  of 
which  is  the  steering  wheel.  Turning  the  wheel 
to  the  right  or  left  steers  the  aeroplane  to  the 
left  or  to  the  right  as  a  boat  or  an  automobile  is 
steered,  while  pushing  the  wheel  forward  directs 
the  machine  downward  and  pulling  the  wheel 
causes  it  to  rise,  a  system  of  control  in  accord 
with  the  natural  impulse  of  the  operator. 

To  maintain  the  lateral  balance  of  the  aero- 
plane, there  are  small  movable  planes,  or  "  ailer- 
ons," attached  at  the  ends  of  the  main  frame- 


290     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

work,  midway  between  the  upper  and  lower 
planes,  at  the  rear.  These  ailerons  are  so  ar- 
ranged that  the  front  edge  remains  in  the  same 
position;  while  one  swings  upward,  the  other 
swings  downward,  at  the  back,  thus  giving  an  up- 
ward pressure  of  air  on  the  under  side  of  the  one, 
while  the  other  is  depressed  by  the  air  which 
strikes  it  on  top.  This  movement  is  controlled 
by  a  movable  back  to  the  aviator's  seat  or  a  frame 
or  yoke  which  fits  around  the  shoulders  of  the 
aviator  in  such  a  way  that  he  moves  the  ailerons 
to  the  proper  position  when  he  leans  to  the  high 
side  of  the  aeroplane  as  it  tilts  and  is  thus  able 
automatically  to  correct  its  balance. 

The  motors  with  which  the  military  and  cross- 
country models  are  equipped  are  of  the  eight-cyl- 
inder " V-shaped''  type,  developing  sixty  and 
eighty  horse-power.  The  propeller  is  attached 
directly  to  the  motor  shaft,  thus  doing  away  with 
any  necessity  of  gearing,  which  consumes  power, 
increases  the  risk  of  breakage,  and  decreases  re- 
liability. The  speed  of  the  motor  is  controlled 
by  a  throttle  opened  and  closed  by  a  movement  of 
the  left  foot. 

The  seat  for  the  aviator  is  placed  well  forward 
of  the  main  planes,  giving  him  a  clear  view  not 
only  ahead,  but  also  straight  downward.  On  the 
military  model,  a  passenger-seat  is  provided  im- 
mediately beside  that  of  the  aviator,  and  a  dual 
system  of  control  makes  it  possible  for  either  pas- 


p     . 

Si-T 


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DIAGRAM  OF  CURTISS  MOTOR,   SIDE  AND  FRONT  VIEWS 

I,  Cylinder;    2,    Engine    Bed;    3,    Fuel    Tank:    4.    Oil    Pan;    5,    Radiator; 
6.  Propeller  ;  7.  Crank  Case  :  8.  Carbureter  :  9.  Gasoline  Pipe  :  10.  Air  Intake  ; 

II.  Auxiliary  Air-pipe;  12,  Drain  Cock;  13,  Water  Cooling:  System:   14,   Gas 
Intake  Pipe:   15,  Rocker  Arm;   16,   Spring  on   Intake  Valve;   17,    Spring  on 
Exhaust  Valve;    18,   Exhaust  Port;   19,    Rocker  Arm   Post;   20,  Push   Rod. 


BIPLANE  PAETS  291 

senger  to  operate  the  machine  independently  of 
the  other. 

The  aeroplane  is  mounted  upon  a  three-wheeled 
chassis  with  one  skid  extending  from  front  to 
rear,  the  whole  landing  gear  being  built  strong 
and  rigid  to  withstand  the  shock  of  landing,  the 
most  dangerous  part  of  flying. 

Elaborate  tests  are  made  of  the  different  parts 
of  the  machine;  the  panels  forming  the  surfaces 
are  tested  by  loading  them  with  gravel  until  they 
break  and  weighing  the  amount  of  gravel  heaped 
upon  them  before  they  give  way.  These  tests 
have  shown  a  factor  of  safety  in  excess  of  any 
strain  that  could  be  put  on  the  machine  in  the  air. 

The  strain  on  the  various  wires  and  cables  is 
also  measured,  with  a  special  instrument  made 
for  that  purpose,  as  seen  in  an  illustration. 
Every  conceivable  test  has  been  tried  which  could 
give  information  that  would  lead  to  any  improve- 
ment in  strength  to  withstand  strains,  in  addition 
to  the  complete  knowledge  that  has  come  from 
actual  tests  under  all  conditions  in  the  air,  and 
on  the  ground  itself,  by  expert  flyers  who  have 
done  almost  everything  that  it  is  possible  to  do 
with  the  machine  as  far  as  trying  to  find  its  weak 
point  is  concerned.  Dives  almost  straight  down 
with  abrupt  turns  at  the  end  of  the  drop  put  many 
times  the  ordinary  strain  on  every  part.  Rough 
landings  also  show  up  any  lack  of  strength  or 
fault  in  the  design  of  the  running  gear  or  frame 


292     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

of  the  machine,  especially  since  this  machine  is 
not  provided  with  any  springs  or  other  device  for 
taking  up  the  shock  of  a  bad  landing. 


CURTISS  AEROPLANE  PARTS— A  COMPLETE  LIST1 

1,  Engine  Section  Panel;  2,  Wing  Panel;  3,  Wing  Panel, 
Sparred  Beam;  4-5,  Aileron,  Right  &  Left;  6,  Tail;  7-8, 
Flipper,  Right  and  Left;  9,  Rudder;  10,  Front  Control,  Ele- 
vator only;  11,  Hydro  Front  Control,  Elevator  only;  12-13, 
Fin,  Top  &  Bottom;  14-15,  Non  Skid  Surface,  Headless  & 
Large. 

BAMBOOS 

16-17,  Front,  Upper,  Right  &  Left;  18-19,  Front,  Lower, 
Right  &  Left;  20,  Front  Cross  Tie,  Headless;  21-22,  Front 
Bamboo  Brace,  Right  &  Left;  23-24,  Rear,  Upper,  Right  & 
Left;  25-26,  Rear,  Lower,  Right  &  Left;  27,  Push  Rod  Bam- 
boo, 45";  28-29,  Bamboo  Post,  Short  &  Long. 

30,  Full  Set  Rear  Bamboos,  Wired  Complete;  31,  Full  Tail 
Equipment,  consisting  of  Rear  Bamboos,  Posts,  Tail,  Rudder 
and  Flippers. 

POSTS 

32,  Wing  Panel,  %"  x  23,4"  x  54%";  33,  Wing  Panel,  %"  x 
2%"  x  60";  34,  Engine  Section,  1%"  x  2%"  x  54V2";  35,  En- 
gine Section,  1%"  x  2%"  x  60". 

i  To  indicate  the  exact  technical  knowledge  required  in  building 
an  aeroplane,  a  matter  quite  apart  from  the  obvious  dash  and 
daring  of  the  aviator,  nothing  seems  more  adequate  than  to  in- 
clude the  list  of  aeroplane  and  motor  parts. — THE  PUBLISHEBS. 


BIPLANE  PARTS  293 

DIAGONAL  ASH  BRACES,  FROM  FRONT  WHEEL  TO  ENGINE  BED 

36-37,  Diagonal  Ash  Brace,  Tinned,  Bight  &  Left;  38-39, 
Diagonal  Ash  Brace,  Left  &  Right;  40-41,  Diagonal  Ash  Brace, 
Tinned  &  Ironed,  Left  &  Eight. 

DIAGONAL  SPRUCE  BRACE,  FROM  FRONT  WHEEL  TO  WING  PANEL 

42-43,  Diagonal  Spruce  Brace,  Left  &  Right;  44-45,  Diag- 
onal Spruce  Brace,  Ironed,  Left  and  Right;  46,  Skid;  47-48, 
Engine  Bed,  not  Tinned,  Right  &  Left;  49-50,  Engine  Bed, 
Tinned,  Right  &  Left. 

ENGINE  BED  POSTS.      BRACES  AND  TUBING  BRACES  ABOVE  LOWER 

PLANE 

51-52,  Engine  Bed  Post,  Front,  Right  &  Left;  53-54,  Engine 
Bed  Post,  Rear,  Right  &  Left;  55-56,  Engine  Bed  Brace, 
Front,  Lower,  Right  &  Left;  57-58,  Engine  Bed  Brace,  Rear, 
Lower,  Right  &  Left;  59-60,  Engine  Bed  Brace,  Rear,  Upper, 
Right  &  Left;  61-62,  Engine  Bed  to  Surface,  Rear,  Upper, 
Right  &  Left;  63,  A  Brace  to  Surface,  Front,  Upper;  64, 
Cross  Tie  Brace  under  Upper  Surface;  65-66,  Aileron  Brace, 
Upper,  Right  &  Left;  67-68,  Aileron  Brace,  Lower,  Right  & 
Left;  69-70,  Seat  Post,  Right  &  Left;  71-72,  Carburetor 
Brace,  Right  &  Left. 

CHASSIS  BRACES.      FORKS  AND  TUBING  UNDER  LOWER  PLANE 

73,  Cross  Tie  Rod,  Lower,  Under  Lower  Surface;  74,  Long 
Span  Brace,  Rear  Wheel  to  Rear  Wheel;  75-76,  Skid  Fork, 
Right  &  Left;  77-79,  Vertical  Fork,  Front  &  Rear,  Right  & 
Left;  80-81,  Leader  Fork,  Rear,  Right  &  Left;  82-83,  M 
Brace,  Right  &  Left;  84,  Y  Brace;  85,  V  Brace,  Front,  Skid 
to  Diagonal;  86,  V  Brace  Spreader  and  Bolt,  Front;  87, 
Brace,  Center,  Skid  to  Diagonal;  88,  V  Brace,  Center,  Skid 
to  Double  Seat;  89,  V  Brace,  Rear,  Skid  to  Diagonal;  90-91, 
Combination  Foot  Throttle  &  Brake,  Single  &  Dual. 


294     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

92,  Brake  Shoe;  93,  Brake  Shoe  Hinge;  94,  Brake  Shoe 
Lug;  95,  Brake  Shoe  Spring;  96,  Steering  Column,  Single; 
97,  Steering  Wheel,  Spider,  Fork  and  Bolt;  98,  Steering 
Wheel,  Spider,  Fork  &  Column,  Assembled  &  Wired;  99, 
Steering  Column,  Dual;  100,  Steering  Wheel,  Spider,  Fork 
&  Bolt,  Dual;  101,  Steering  Wheel,  Spider,  Fork,  Bolt  & 
Column,  Assembled  &  Wired,  Dual;  102,  Foot  Rest;  103, 
Push  Rod,  Metal,  with  Swivel  End,  Dual. 

104,  Seat,  Single;  105,  Seat  with  Fittings  for  Shoulder 
Yoke,  Single;  106,  Seat,  Complete  with  Shoulder  Yoke, 
Whiffle-tree  Case  and  Whiffle-tree,  Single;  107,  Seat,  Double; 
108,  Seat  with  Fittings  for  Shoulder  Yoke,  Double;  109,  Seat, 
Complete  with  Shoulder  Yoke,  Whiffle-tree  Cases  and  Whiffle- 
tree,  Double;  110,  Seat,  Passenger;  111,  Seat  Supporting 
Brace,  Passenger;  112,  Rear  Beam  Reinforcing  Plates. 

113,  Cable,  %2";  114,  Cable,  %6";  115,  Cable,  %2"; 
116,  Cable  Casing;  117,  Short  Circuiting  Switch;  118, 
Snaps,  3";  119,  Main  Plane  Socket;  120,  Main  Plane 
Socket,  Wired  Complete;  121,  Main  Plane  Plate;  122,  Aileron 
End  Wire  Connection;  123-124,  Aileron  Cross  Wire  Clamp 
&  Clip;  125,  Aileron  L;  126,  Aileron  Post  Lug;  127,  Aileron 
Brace  Wire  Connection ;  128,  Aileron  Corner  Wire  Guide ;  129, 
Aileron  Corner  Pulley,  3";  129,  Aileron  Pulley,  3". 

131,  Bamboo  Curved  Rudder  Wire  Guide;  132,  Skid  Safety 
Wire  Connection;  133,  Copper  Sleeve;  134,  Tin  Thimbles; 
135,  Diagonal  Ash  Brace  Iron;  136,  Diagonal  Spruce  Brace 
Iron;  137-138,  Engine  Bed  Post  Plate  &  Wire  Connection; 
139,  Engine  Bed  Bolt;  140,  Fin  L  Irons;  141,  Fin  Hinge; 
142-143,  Front  Control  Bracket  &  L  Iron;  144,  Hydro  Front 
Control,  Brace  Lug;  145-146,  Hydro  Front  Control  Support- 
ing Post,  L  &  R;  147-148,  Hydro  Front  Control,  Supporting 
Post  Lug,  Left  &  Right;  149-150,  Hydro  Front  Control  Push 
Rod  &  Bracket;  151-152,  Hydro  Front  Control  Post  &  Diag- 
onal Brace;  153,  Hydro  Splash  Boards. 

154-155,  Flipper  Post  &  Wedge;  156,  Flipper  Hinge;  157, 
Flipper  Wire  Guide,  Straight;  158,  Rudder  Swivel;  159, 


BIPLANE  PARTS  295 

Curved  Corner  Wire  Guide;  160,  Rudder  Lever  Clip;  161, 
Rudder  Wire  Connection;  162,  Rudder  Wire  Guide,  Curved; 
163-164,  Terminals,  Short  &  Long;  165,  Turnbuckles;  166, 
Wheel,  20"  x  4",  Complete;  167,  Wheel,  20"  x  4",  Less  Tire; 
168-169,  Wheel,  20"  x  2V2",  Complete  &  Less  Tire;  170,  Inner 
Tube,  20"  x  4";  171,  Casing,  20"  x  4";  172,  Tire,  20"  x  2%"; 
173,  Axle. 

174,  Gas  Tank,  to  Attach  to  Engine  Bed ;  175,  Bamboo  Brace 
Clip;  176,  Flexible  Gasoline  Pipe;  177,  Radiator;  178, 
Radiator  Brace;  179-180,  Propeller,  Bolt  &  Tinned;  181, 
Propeller,  Complete  Not  Tinned;  182,  Cap  Screw,  Nickel 
Steel,  %6-24  x  1%;  183,  Cap  Screw,  Nickel  Steel,  %6-24  x 
2V4;  184-185,  Spring  Washer,  %,  x  %6  &  %6  x  %;  186,  Wing 
Pontoon,  Complete;  187,  Pontoon  Paddles;  188,  Hydro  Drain 
Plug;  189,  Hydro  Braces;  190-191,  Hydro  Spacing  Tube  & 
Bolt,  Short  &  Long. 


CHAPTER  in 

THE  CURTISS  MOTOR  AND  FACTORY 

THE  history  of  the  Curtiss  motor  goes  back 
to  the  early  days  at  Hammondsport ;  it  was 
the  keynote  of  the  development  of  the  motorcycle, 
the  airship,  the  aeroplane,  and  the  hydro.  From 
a  crude  single-cylinder  engine  used  on  an  experi- 
mental bicycle,  the  motor  has  developed  to  an 
eight-cylinder  engine  giving  over  eighty  horse- 
power, on  which  the  reliability  of  the  Curtiss 
aeroplane  is  dependent.  Indeed,  flight  itself,  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  was  delayed  until  the 
development  of  the  gas  engine  made  it  possible 
to  get  a  power  that  was  applicable  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  one  that  was,  at  the  same  time,  light 
enough. 

To  describe  the  motor  intelligibly  to  one  who 
has  had  no  acquaintanceship  whatever  with  gas 
engines  would  require  many  chapters,  but  to 
those  who  have  ever  examined  automobile,  ma- 
rine, or  other  motors,  the  following  technical  data 
will  give  an  idea  of  the  distinctive  feature  of  this 
aeroplane  motor. 

296 


MOTOR  PAETS  297 

MOTOE   DESIGN   AND   MATEEIAL. 

Crankshaft: 

The  crankshaft  is  supported  in  five  bearings  of 
more  than  ample  size.  It  is  extremely  difficult, 
if  not  impossible,  to  design  a  shaft  which  will  be 
light  enough  for  aeronautical  purposes,  and  still 
be  sufficiently  rigid  without  a  special  support. 
The  propeller  end  of  the  shaft  is  supported  in  two 
places  eleven  and  three-eighth  inches  apart,  at 
one  end  in  a  plain  bearing  two  and  seven-six- 
teenth inches  long  and  at  the  other  in  a  combined 
radial  and  thrust  ball  bearing  of  ample  size. 
This  construction  is  stronger  than  is  the  case 
where  the  propeller  is  mounted  immediately  be- 
hind the  last  main  bearing  proper  or  even  in  some 
cases  carried  at  a  distance  of  several  inches  from 
the  bearing  without  support.  Any  lack  of  me- 
chanical or  thrust  balance  is  multiplied  and  trans- 
mitted directly  to  the  last  crank  throw,  the  tre- 
mendous racking  and  twisting  strain  thus 
occasioned  causing  ultimate  failure. 

The  crankshaft  is  made  of  imported  Chrome- 
Nickel  steel,  properly  heat  treated.  This  steel, 
particularly  after  heat  treatment,  has  an  enor- 
mous tensile  strength  combined  with  a  very  high 
elastic  limit  and  great  resistance  to  fatigue  and 
crystallisation. 

Connecting  Rods: 

The  connecting  rods  are  machined  from  a  solid 


298     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Chrome-Nickel  steel  forging,  heat  treated.  The 
body  of  the  rod  is  tubular,  which  cross  section 
gives  a  maximum  strength  with  minimum  weight. 
Eough  forging  weighs  five  pounds;  finished 
weight  one  pound  eight  ounces. 

Piston: 

The  piston  is  long  enough  to  give  sufficient 
bearing  surface  to  sustain  the  side  thrust  from 
the  connecting  rod  and  at  the  same  time  weighs 
but  two  and  one-half  pounds.  The  domed  head, 
with  properly  placed  ribs,  assures  strength.  The 
piston  pin  bearing  is  seven-eighth  inches  diame- 
ter by  two  and  three-fourth  inches  long.  Eevers- 
ing  common  practice,  the  pin  turns  in  the  piston 
instead  of  the  rod  end,  as  considerable  gain  in 
bearing  surface  is  thus  made. 

Engineers  will  appreciate  that  with  a  combined 
piston  and  rod  weight  of  four  and  one-half 
pounds,  the  strains  from  twenty-two  hundred  re- 
versals of  motion  per  minute  at  normal  speed  are 
very  slight. 

It  has  three  rings  together  with  fourteen  oil 
grooves  aiding  the  rings  in  retaining  compression 
and  assisting  the  oiling.  All  pistons  are  rough 
turned  and  then  thoroughly  annealed  before 
grinding,  to  insure  against  warping  in  service. 

The  piston  rings  are  of  clean  springy  iron, 
ground  all  over.  As  a  ring  must  be  tight  on  the 
sides  as  well  as  where  it  comes  in  contact  with 


MOTOE  PAETS  "299 

the  cylinder,  there  must  not  be  a  variation  in 
width  of  over  a  quarter  thousandth  of  an  inch. 

Cylinder: 

The  cylinder  is  symmetrical  in  design,  insur- 
ing even  expansion  without  distortion. 

Valve-in-the-head  construction  gives  an  efficient 
shape  of  combustion  chamber;  the  compact 
charge  fired  in  the  centre  giving  quick,  complete 
combustion,  and  the  large  valves  give  free  ingress 
and  egress  for  the  gases. 

The  water  jacket  is  brazed  to  the  cylinder- 
casting  autogenously,  the  metal  being  a  composi- 
tion of  nickel  and  copper  known  as  "Monel" 
metal,  which  is  proof  against  corrosion. 

Cylinders  are  bored,  ground  and  finished  by 
lapping,  to  get  a  glass  smooth  surface. 

Water  Circulation: 

The  water  circulation  is  so  carried  out  that  all 
cylinders  are  cooled  equally,  the  water  pump  be- 
ing divided  by  a  partition  which  passes  water  in 
equal  quantities  to  each  set  of  four,  thus  avoiding 
any  possibility  of  a  steam- trap  on  one  side  caus- 
ing all  the  water  to  pass  through  the  other  side. 
The  pump  is  driven  from  the  crankshaft  by  a 
floating  joint.  The  pump  shaft  is  made  of  a  car- 
bon spindle  steel. 

A  portion  of  the  hot  water  is  returned  through 
the  carburetor  water  jacket,  which  is  essential 


300     THE'CURTISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

with  present  day  gasoline,  particularly  in  cold 
weather  or  high  altitudes. 

Lubrication: 

The  lubrication  is  a  combined  circulating  and 
splash  oiling  system.  A  gear  driven  oil  pump 
submerged  in  the  oil  pan  forces  a  constant  stream 
of  filtered  oil  through  the  hollow  cam  shaft  bear- 
ing, thence  to  each  individual  cam  shaft  bearing, 
thence  to  the  main  crankshaft  bearings  whence 
it  is  forced  through  the  hollow  crankshaft  and 
cheeks  to  the  crank  pins,  the  surplus  replenishing 
the  oil  pan  into  which  the  rods  dip,  thus  oiling 
the  cylinder  walls  by  splash  and  also  filling  oil 
pockets  on  each  main  bearing,  as  an  additional 
insurance  against  their  running  dry. 

The  pump  is  driven  off  a  bevel  gear  integral 
with  the  crankshaft  and  is  of  the  gear  type,  be- 
ing without  valves  or  moving  parts  other  than 
two  simple  spur  gears.  It  is  entirely  enclosed  in 
a  fine  mesh  screen  through  which  the  oil  must 
pass  to  reach  the  pump. 

Valves: 

The  valves  have  cast-iron  heads  reinforced  with 
a  perforated  steel  disc  embedded  in  the  cast 
iron,  the  whole  being  electrically  welded  to  a 
carbon  steel  stem.  The  cam  shaft  is  hardened 
and  ground  and  cams  formed  integral  with  the 
shaft.  The  cam  contour  is  also  ground,  the  valve 
timing  being  exactly  the  same  in  each  cylinder. 


CURTISS  MOTORS 

(A)   The  first  Curtiss  aerial  motor;   iised  In  Baldwin  dirigible.      (B)   Motor 
used  in  both  the  "White  Wing"  and  "Red  Wing."      (C)   Motor  of  1912 


^    -WMKfc 


AT  THE  AEROPLANE  FACTORY,  HAMMONDSPORT 

(A)   Testing  aeroplanes.     Gravel  on  reversed  planes  tests  strength  ;  scale  shows 
wire-strain.      (B)   Assembly   room   of  factory 


MOTOR  PAETS  301 

Castings: 

The  majority  of  non-moving  parts,  including 
the  crank  case,  are  cast  of  special  aluminum  al- 
loys. Recent  laboratory  tests  have  shown  ten- 
sile strengths  of  as  high  as  fifty  thousand,  five 
hundred  pounds  per  square  inch. 

Weight: 

The  weight  of  model  "A"  motor  alone  is  two 
hundred  eighty-five  pounds — three  and  eight- 
tenth  pounds  per  horse-power.  The  weight  of 
power  plant  including  propeller,  radiator,  and 
necessary  connections  is  three  hundred  forty- 
seven  pounds. 

Note  that  the  forty  horse-power  cylinder  mo- 
tor weighs  one  hundred  seventy-five  pounds  and 
gives  a  thrust  of  three  hundred  ten  pounds 
when  equipped  with  a  seven  foot  diameter  by  six 
foot  pitch  propeller  turning  at  nine  hundred 
revolutions  per  minute.  The  pitch  speed  of  the 
propeller  at  this  rate  is  in  excess  of  a  mile  a 
minute. 

Gas-Consumption : 

The  consumption  of  gas  is  three-fourths  pint 
per  horse-power  per  hour.  The  engine  can  be 
throttled  and  consumption  reduced  in  nearly  di- 
rect ratio  to  the  horse-power  developed. 

Consumption  on  full  throttle  per  hour  is  seven 
and  one-fourth  gallons  gasoline  and  one  gallon  of 


302     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

oil.     The  oil  capacity  of  the  small  pan  is  four  gal- 
lons ;  of  the  large  pan,  six  gallons. 

Testing  and  Power: 

Each  engine  is  given  an  extended  run  with  pro- 
peller load.  After  giving  the  required  standing 
thrust  at  the  proper  speed,  the  engine  is  com- 
pletely torn  down  for  inspection  and  carbon  re- 
moved. After  assembling,  it  is  given  a  second 
test  on  a  water  dynamometer,  which  gives  the 
horse-power  developed. 

Miscellaneous: 

Few  people  realise  that  the  aeronautical  motor 
is  subjected  to  usage  equalled  by  few  internal 
combustion  engines.  The  average  car  engine  is 
seldom  run  on  full  throttle  for  extended  periods. 
The  marine  engine  is  ordinarily  a  very  heavy, 
slow  speed  machine.  The  aeronautical  motor,  to 
run  at  the  high  speeds  under  full  load  demanded 
to-day,  must  of  necessity  be  designed  with  this 
fact  in  mind,  and  particular  attention  paid  to 
numerous  weaknesses  apt  to  develop  under  this 
treatment. 

Adding  to  the  above  the  necessity  for  minimum 
weight  while  still  retaining  a  sufficient  factor  of 
safety  in  all  parts,  it  is  evident  that  an  aeronauti- 
cal motor  must  be  designed  as  such  and  not  be  a 
modified  edition  of  an  automobile  engine  with  a 
few  pounds  removed  here  and  there. 


MOTOR  PARTS  303 


PARTS  OF  CUBTISS  MOTOR — A  COMPLETE  LIST. 

1-5,  Breather  Pipe  Cap  Screw  &  Flange,  Collar,  Cap  & 
Clip;  6,  Ball  Bearing  (Radial) ;  7-8,  Crank  Case,  Upper  Half 
&  Lower  Half;  9-10,  Crank  Case  Bolt,  Small  &  Large >  11, 
Crank  Shaft. 

12,  Cam  Shaft;  13-15,  Cam  Shaft  Bearing,  Front,  Centre, 
&  Rear;  16,  Cam  Shaft  Bearing  Sleeve,  Rear;  17-18,  Cam 
Shaft  Gear  &  Retaining  Screw;  19-20,  Cam  Shaft  Bearing 
Clamping  Screw,  Centre,  &  Retaining  Screw;  21,  Cam  Fol- 
lower Guide  Stud;  22,  Cam  Follower  Guide  Screw;  23,  Cam 
Follower;  24^25,  Cam  Follower  Guide  &  Plug. 

26,  Cylinder;  27,  Cylinder  Tie  Down  Yoke;  28-29,  Cylinder 
Stud,  Long  &  Short;  30,  Cylinder  Stud  Nut;  31-32,  Connect- 
ing Rod  &  Bolt;  33,  Connecting  Rod  Bolt  Nut;  34,  Compres- 
sion Tee  for  Oil  Pipe;  35,  Compression  Coupling  Sleeve; 
36-37,  Cable  Holder  &  Screw;  38-39,  Cable  Tube  &  End;  40- 
41,  Cable  Tube  Clip  &  Screw;  42,  Carburetor  Water  Pipe 
Clip. 

43,  Exhaust  &  Inlet  Valve;  44,  Exhaust  Valve  Spring;  45, 
Felt  Oil  Retainer  for  Rear  Thrust  Bearing;  46,  Felt  Oil  Re- 
tainer for  Magneto  Gear;  47,  Gasket  for  Intake  Manifold; 
48-49,  Gear  Case  Cover  &  Screw;  50,  Gear  Cover  Packing 
Nut;  51,  Half  Time  Gear;  52,  Intake  Pipe  Elbow;  53,  Intake 
Pipe  with  2  Union  Nuts ;  54r-56,  Intake  Pipe  Y  &  Support  Base 
&  Cap;  57-62,  Intake  Manifold,  &  Bolt,— Bolt  Nut,— Cap 
Screw, — Union  Nut, — &  Elbow  Cap  Screw;  63,  Intake  Valve 
Spring;  64,  Magneto  Bracket;  65,  Magneto  Gear;  66-67,  Mag- 
neto Bracket  Cap  Screw,  Large  &  Small;  68,  Magneto  Base 
Cap  Screw. 

69,  Main  Bearing  Stud  Nut;  70,  Main  Bearing  Stud,  New; 
71-73,  Main  Bearing  Cap,  Front,  Centre  &  Rear;  74-75,  Main 
Bearing  Babbitt,  Front,  Upper,  &  Lower;  76-77,  Main  Bear- 
ing Babbitt,  Centre,  Upper  &  Lower;  78-79,  Main  Bearing 
Babbitt,  Rear,  Upper,  &  Lower;  80,  Main  Bearing  Babbitt 


304     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

Clamping  Screw;  81,  Main  Bearing  Liner,  Front  &  Rear; 
82,  Main  Bearing  Liner  Centre;  83,  Main  Bearing  Liners. 

84,  Nipple  for  Oil  Pump;  85-86,  Oil  Pump  &  Leader  Gear 
Shaft;  87-94,  Oil  Pump  Follower  Gear,— Cover,— Drive  Pin- 
ion,— Screen, — Support  Bolt, — Cover  Screw, — Follower  Gear 
Bushing,— &  Shaft  Bushing;  95,  Oil  Pipe  for  Pump; 
96-97,  Oil  Pump  Compression  Coupling  &  Nut;  98-99,  Oil 
Sight,  Base  &  Glass;  100-101,  Oil  Sight  Glass  Guard  &  Cap; 
102,  Oil  Splash  Pan;  103,  Oil  Bleeder  Pipe;  104,  Oil  Bleeder 
Pet  Cock. 

105-107,  Piston,  Pin  &  Ring;  108-109,  Pump  Packing  Nut, 
Large  &  Small;  110-114,  Push  Rod,  End  Bearing  Pin  Lock 
Screw, — Spring, — Spring  Support, — Forked  End, — &  End 
Bearing  Pin;  115,  Propeller  Bolt;  116-121,  Rocker  Arm,— 
Support, — Bearing  Pin  Set  Screw, — Tappet  Screw, — Sup- 
port Cap  Screw,— &  Bearing  Pin;  122-124,  Spark  Plug 
(Herz)— Gasket,--&  Wrench;  125-129,  Thrust  Bearing,  End 
Clamp, — Lock  Ring, — End  Clamp  Screw, — End  Clamp  Bolt, 
—End  Thread  Bolt  Nut;  130,  Valve  Push  Rod;  131,  Valve 
Stem  Washer;  132,  Valve  Stem  Lock  Washer. 

133-135,  Water  Jacket,— Inlet  Nut,— &  Inlet;  136,  Water 
Pump;  137-140,  Water  Pump  Shaft,— Support  Stud,— Im- 
peller,— &  Driver;  141,  Water  Pump  Friction  Sleeve;  142- 
143,  Water  Pump  Friction  Washer,  Front  &  Rear;  144-145, 
Water  Pump  Bushing,  Front  &  Rear;  146,  Water  Pump  Gas- 
ket; 147-149,  Water  Pump  Universal  Joint  Member,  Male, — 
Female,— &  Spring;  150-151,  Water  Pipe,  Right  Hand,  Bot- 
tom,—&  Left  Hand,  Bottom;  152,  Water  Pipe  Outlet  Elbow; 
153-156,  Water  Outlet  Top  Pipes  for  Cylinders. 


A  VISIT   TO   THE   FACTOBY 

A  visit  to  the  Curtiss  factory  is  of  interest  to 
any  one  interested  in  machinery  and  there  yon 
will  see  the  latest  machines  of  all  types,  from 


THE  CURTISS  FACTORY  305 

powerful  milling  machines  to  a  delicate  modern 
"Printograph"  that  is  almost  human  in  its  man- 
ner of  getting  out  letters  and  printing,  for  it  is 
a  cross  between  a  printing  press  and  a  type- 
writer. Another  unique  machine  is  one  that 
carves  out  propellers  from  a  laminated  block  of 
wood.  One  arm  of  this  machine  runs  over  a 
model,  and  the  other,  about  two  feet  away,  ar- 
ranged to  move  exactly  with  it,  and  provided 
with  a  tool  of  cutting  edge,  forms  the  propeller 
blade  with  absolute  accuracy,  out  of  a  block  of 
wood  placed  parallel  to  the  model.  The  cutting 
tool  follows  all  the  complex  changes  in  the  surface 
of  the  wooden  propeller  with  the  greatest  ease  and 
rapidity. 

The  brazing  room,  where  the  oxy-hydrogen 
torch  is  used  to  braze  metal  parts  together,  and 
the  room  where  they  weld  the  water  jackets  on  to 
the  cylinders,  are  places  of  special  interest;  the 
nickel  plating  room,  japanning  room,  and  the 
room  where  painting  and  drying  are  done,  almost 
complete  the  tour  of  the  various  departments, 
but  there  still  remain  the  wood-working  shop, 
boat  shop,  assembling  rooms,  where  the  aero- 
planes are  put  together  and  completely  set  up, 
and  the  motor  testing  room,  where  motors  are 
run  for  whole  days,  ten  hours  at  a  time,  driving 
an  air  propeller  and  showing  on  scales  the 
amount  of  thrust  given  at  all  times. 

Here  you  may   also   see   a  machine  to  make 


306     THE  CUETISS  AVIATION  BOOK 

" brake  tests"  of  the  motors,  by  which  is  told 
how  much  horse-power  the  motors  give.  This 
machine  consists  of  a  large  drum  with  a  brake 
fixed  against  it  and  cooled  by  water  so  it  will  not 
get  too  hot.  This  brake  absorbs  the  energy  of 
the  motor,  which  is  measured  by  an  arrangement 
of  scales  and  lever  arms. 

There  is  a  tremendous  racket  when  the  big  mo- 
tors are  running  at  full  speed  in  this  small  room, 
and  the  hillside  rings  with  the  roar  of  their  fiery 
exhaust. 

In  the  laboratory  of  the  factory,  where  the  de- 
signs and  drawings  are  made,  there  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  pieces  of  apparatus  in  the  whole 
plant.  This  is  a  "wind  tunnel,"  where  models 
of  aeroplanes  are  tested  and  where  experiments 
are  tried  to  see  what  occurs  in  the  stream  of  air. 
Here  tests  are  made  which  assist  in  determining 
what  the  best  form  and  shape  of  objects  such  as 
upright  posts  and  exposed  parts  shall  be  and 
where  a  measure  of  their  relative  resistances  may 
be  made.  The  tunnel  itself  consists  of  a  square 
box  with  a  propeller  or  fan  mounted  at  one  end 
to  create  a  draft  or  current  of  air  which  passes 
through  a  screen  to  cause  it  to  assume  uniform 
motion.  There  is  a  window  in  the  tunnel 
through  which  the  observer  can  see  the  action  of 
the  objects  to  be  tested.  Varying  the  speed  of 
the  fan  varies  the  speed  of  the  air  current  and  its 
pressure,  and  in  this  manner  the  stream-lines  of 


THE  CURTISS  FACTOEY  307 

air  under  the  varying  conditions  and  the  effect 
upon  models  of  different  forms  and  shapes  may 
be  studied  to  enable  refinements  to  be  made  in 
the  aeroplane's  construction. 

Down  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Keuka,  about  a  half 
mile  from  the  factory,  are  the  aeroplane  sheds 
and  the  flying  field.  Here  is  where  the  aviation 
school  is  situated,  and  where  flyers  are  made. 
Over  the  smooth  field,  the  pupils  start  with  the 
four-cylinder  " grass  cutters,"  or  machines  hob- 
bled so  they  cannot  get  but  a  little  way  off  the 
ground.  They  hop,  hop,  hop,  almost  all  day  long, 
one  after  the  other  taking  regular  turns,  and  now 
and  again  varying  the  monotony  by  being  called 
away  by  the  flying  instructor  to  take  a  real  flight 
in  the  hydroaeroplane  out  over  the  lake  to  get 
accustomed  to  the  upper  air,  and  to  the  high  speed 
of  the  big  machine. 

Later  in  his  course  of  instruction,  the  student 
takes  out  an  eight-cylinder  machine  and  flies 
around  in  circles  over  the  field  until  he  is  able  to 
take  the  test  for  his  Aero  Club  of  America  Li- 
cense, which  requires  him  to  make  two  series  of 
figure  eights  around  two  pylons  fifteen  hundred 
feet  apart,  landing  each  time  within  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  of  a  mark  and  rising  to  an  altitude 
greater  than  two  hundred  feet. 

This  is  the  goal  of  the  novice,  and  after  his  test, 
the  student  is  ready  to  fly  as  far  and  as  fast  as 
he  likes.  He  has  become  the  complete  airman. 


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DUE  AS  STAMPED 


NO.  DD6A,  20m, 
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